Celebrity
Cardi B pushed back about queerbaiting allegations surrounding her new video with Normani.

Cardi B Explained Why She Has A Problem With Accusing Artists Of Queerbaiting

Her latest video stirred up a lot of discourse.

by Abby Monteil
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Cardi B isn’t here for queerbaiting accusations. On July 23, Rolling Stone published an article about popular musicians like Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish being accused of queerbaiting, a term which activist Leo Herrera describes as when “a celebrity or a public figure capitalizes on the suspicion that they may be romantically involved with another same-sex person for the sake of publicity, promotion, or a capitalistic gain.” The article also mentioned the recent music video for her and Normani’s song “Wild Side,” which shows the two women naked and holding each other. But Cardi, who is openly bisexual and was hiding her second pregnancy at the time of filming, was quick to point out the inherent issues with claiming that real-life people are queerbaiting.

Uuummmm @RollingStone queerbaiting? You do know we was trying to hide a whole baby bump right? Also I’m married to a man but I have express soo much about my bisexuality and my experiences wit girls,” she tweeted on July 23. “All of a sudden ‘queer baiting’ is the new word & people use it to the ground!”

She went on to explain the problems she had with queerbaiting accusations as they pertain to musicians. “I feel like it pressure artist to talk about their sexuality or their experiences if they don’t feel comfortable speaking about,” Cardi continued. “If a artist kiss a girl on a video does that means she gotta show videos & text wit other women?”

Cardi has addressed queerbaiting in the cast, particularly after she collaborated with Rita Ora, Bebe Rexha, and Charli XCX on the 2018 song “Girls,” which discusses sexual fluidity. In her verse, she raps, “Now I could be your lipstick, just for one night … I steal your bitch, have her down with the scissor / Tonight, I don’t want a dog, I want a kitten / I might French a girl from Great Britain.” At the time, other LGBTQ+ artists like Hayley Kiyoko and Kehlani expressed discomfort about the song potentially seeming exploitative.

We never try to cause harm or had bad intentions with the song. I personally myself had experiences with other woman, s—t with a lot of women!" Cardi responded at the time. "I thought the song was a good song and i remember my experience."

She added, “I know I have used words before that I wasn’t aware that they are offensive to the LGBT community. I apologize for that. Not everybody knows the correct ‘terms’ to use. I learned and I stopped using it.”