Defamation lawsuit against Cardi B, sister Hennessy Carolina dismissed
Cardi B, Hennessy Carolina and model Michelle Diaz were sued in September 2020 for allegedly defaming a trio of beachgoers who displayed a Trump flag on their car.
Cardi B has won her second defamation case of 2022 after a New York judge dismissed claims filed against the rapper and her sister by beachgoers following a September 2020 confrontation that went viral.
As reported by TMZ, three Suffolk County residents sued Cardi, her sister Hennessy Carolina and model Michelle Diaz after a parking dispute on Smith Point Beach where plaintiffs alleged they were victims of assault, battery, defamation, and civil rights violations.
The beachgoers claimed that Carolina called them defamatory terms and spit on them during the incident — allegations thrown out by the judge who said the confrontation never escalated past general insults, per the outlet.
As previously reported by theGrio, beachgoer Peter Caliendo claimed that he, his wife and pal, Manuel Alarcon, were visiting the beach on Labor Day weekend in 2020, displaying a Trump flag on their car while Alarcon was wearing a “MAGA” hat.
Caliendo reportedly claimed that Diaz, Carolina’s girlfriend, blocked the car when she pulled up, prompting Caliendo to tell her she didn’t know proper beach etiquette. The lawsuit alleges that this is when Carolina emerged from the water and stormed toward the group, recording it all with her cell phone.
Per TMZ, the lawsuit alleged Carolina called the trio of beachgoers “racist, MAGA supporters,” which they claimed was defamatory, additionally claiming that Carolina spat on one of them and behaved in a threatening manner.
As reported by theGrio, Carolina conversely claimed that she and Diaz were told by the men to “go to your f**king country,” which she deemed a targeted attack because they “saw us parking here and we were speaking Spanish and we’re mixed.”
Cardi tweeted a video of the incident which included Carolina calling the beachgoers racist, yet the trio reportedly claimed in the suit that the clip was edited and did not include the full confrontation.
After reviewing the claims, the judge said that Carolina’s insults did not reach a defamatory level, and even if she did spit on the trio, no evidence supported it being targeted at any of the beachgoers or reaching the level of assault and battery.
The victory for Cardi comes months after the rapper won a lawsuit she filed against popular YouTube blogger Tasha K, real name Latasha Kebe, who Cardi claimed waged a “malicious campaign” to damage her reputation.
According to Page Six, Kebe was found liable in January for defamation and invasion of privacy through portrayal in a false light, as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The Shade Room reported on Thursday that Kebe has filed an appeal after being ordered to pay Cardi $4 million following the verdict.
theGrio’s Ny Magee contributed to this report.
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