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Cardi B faces defamation lawsuit

Cardi B is facing a lawsuit for defamation from a group of beachgoers she branded "racist MAGA supporters" earlier this month.

The ‘WAP’ hitmaker shared footage of an alleged altercation between her sister, Hennessy Carolina, and her girlfriend Michelle Diaz and the group at Smith Point Beach on 6 September, and claimed the couple had been harassed over their car parking "all because they are a Afro/Hispanic gay couple."

However, in the lawsuit – which also names Hennessy and Michelle – the beachgoers alleged the two women harassed them and then defamed them by posting edited video and commentary about the incident on social media.

The plaintiffs’ attorney, John Ray, told ABC 7 New York: "These peaceful Suffolk County residents were quietly enjoying a Sunday at the Smith Point beach with their families, when rap celebrity Hennessy Carolina suddenly approached them, raging, spitting, insulting, assaulting, defaming and threatening them, all the while videotaping them because one of them wore a MAGA hat.

"Then Hennessy, Cardi B and celebrity model Michelle Diaz deviously edited the videotape and published the edited version all over social media, across the world for all to see, and maliciously falsely labeled these residents and their families as ‘N****s’ and as racists."

In an audio recording on her social media pages – which Cardi also shared – Hennessy had claimed two men had told her and her partner to "go to your f****** country" and targeted them because they "saw us parking here and we were speaking Spanish and we’re mixed".

The ‘Bodak Yellow’ hitmaker had shared the footage on Twitter and wrote: "Meanwhile not only you got racist maga supporters that are linching ,racist cop shootings and killing black men all cause their leader make them feel like they could do so.

"My sister couldn’t even park her car today with out this man harassing her girlfriend soon as the camera cane out they started being sweet.

"TGIS BRAVENESS IS COMING FROM THEIR LEADERS ENERGY! (sic)"

The footage showed two men – one of whom was wearing a ‘Make America Great Again’ cap – and a woman involved in a heated row with Hennessy at the beach.

One of the alleged aggressors said: "Get your vehicle out of here."

Hennessy replied: "Get the f*** out of my face!"

She also warned them against confronting her girlfriend, while one of the men – who was shirtless – insisted he "did not come near" her.

Cardi’s sister repeatedly told the two men to "back the f*** off" her car, which prompted the female to approach her.

After a brief row, the woman started to step back and said: "You’re blocking some people."

She then flashed her middle finger and chanted "Trump" at the camera after Hennessy told her: "I hope you know that you will be online and your husband."