Cardi B accidentally uploaded a topless photo of herself on Instagram stories and removed it after an unspecified amount of time.
The “WAP” singer apologized for the gaffe in a voice note, but the use of an ableist term while expressing her regret caused outrage on social media.
In the message that was recorded and uploaded on Twitter, the mortified rapper said:
“Lord, why the f’k you have to make me so f’ing stupid and [R-word]? Why, why, why?”
“You know what, I’m not gonna beat myself up about it. I’m just gonna eat my breakfast and then I’m gonna go to the party.”
You can hear her recording in the tweet below.
WARNING: NSFW language
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) October 13, 2020
Twitter called out the rapper for her casual use of the R-word – which is offensive to those with or perceived to have a disability when used by an able-bodied person.
omg did you just use the r word😥
— albert (@albert12798) October 13, 2020
NOT THE R WORD CARDII
— 𓆉 (@bacarbieoutsold) October 13, 2020
hi pls don’t say the r word, other than that , i don’t rlly listen to ur music that much but i do belive in respecting other people so i hope ur doing ok, it’s no ones place to leak other people’s pics.
— tiff (@moondzt) October 13, 2020
Oh gosh, zoinks! How could she say that terrible word lol
— I might be Danny (@BeenDeadDan) October 13, 2020
….you just gonna use the r slur like that or?
— rin⁷ (@cloudsrm) October 13, 2020
In an effort to minimize the backlash, one Twitter user mentioned Nicki Minaj for her use of the same slur in one of her songs.
But @diegostarships countered:
“That was in 2007 baby it wasn’t a big thing back then and a lot of people weren’t educated on things like that.”
“Now it’s 2020 and almost everybody knows that words can be hurtful especially when it’s addressed to people less fortunate-over all that won’t save cardi.”
that was in 2007 baby it wasn’t a big thing back then and a lot of people weren’t educated on things like that. Now it’s 2020 and almost everybody knows that words can be hurtful especially when it’s addressed to people less fortunate-over all that won’t save cardi
— Diego&Diana ᴺᴹ 🦄 (@diegostarships) October 13, 2020
Fans who did not see malicious intent behind the use of the slur advised the rapper to be more self-aware in the future.
Agreed. Even if you didn't mean it like that and mean you're slow. Maybe we can replace the R word with Cautious 🤷🏽♀️
— Yourspiritanimal (@seshatdagoddess) October 14, 2020
I love Cardi, my oldest sister has Autism and yeah r word hurts. I understand many don’t realize. Cardi has a good heart and I hope she sees and researches. It’s not ok to use the r word
— Alyssa (@alyangel88) October 14, 2020
In her voice memo addressing the accidental leak, Cardi B continued:
“It was my f**k up… s**t happens.”
“I am not going to think about it… No, I won’t. It is what it is. S**t happened. F’k it, it’s not even the first time. I used to be a stripper so whatever. Ay, dios mio.”
This is not the first time the rapper sparked controversy for using discriminatory language on social media.
In July, the rapper used a term that is derogatory towards people of Asian descent in response to a fan who commented on a now-deleted Instagram photo of what her daughter Kulture may look like in the future.
The fan mentioned the composite photo of Cardi and her husband Offset looked like Cardi’s sister Hennessy.
To which the rapper responded:
“I think cause Hennessy got ch*nky eyes like Offset and so [does] KK. It’s the only [thing] I could think.”
She responded to the backlash in a deleted tweet:
“I don’t know f’kin’ everything. We don’t even use that as [an] insult and I don’t use it as [an] insult. I’m sick of the internet.”
According to Indy 100, the rapper has yet to address the controversy for her use of the ableist slur.
