Cardi B exuded boho chic when she was spotted emerging from a courthouse in Santa Ana, California on Friday.
The 30-year-old hitmaker is fighting a lawsuit waged against her by a man who says his tattoo was used without his permission on the cover of her 2016 debut mixtape Gangsta B**** Music Vol. 1.
And for her latest trip to court, she ditched her typical glitzy attire in favor of an ensemble that brought back memories of Diane Keaton in Annie Hall.
The star is being sued by Kevin Michael Brophy for $5 million on claims of copyright infringement.
Remember when: And for her latest trip to court, Cardi (left) ditched her typical glitzy attire in favor of an ensemble that brought back memories of Diane Keaton in Annie Hall (right)
Brophy’s tattoo was used on the cover of her 2016 debut mixtape Gangsta B**** Music Vol. 1, which shows her in the backseat of a car with her legs spread apart while a shirtless man has his head between them, presumably to perform oral sex.
Cardi has said that the cover artist, Timm Gooden, found Brophy’s tattoo online and inserted a portion of it into the final image without her knowledge of where it came from.
The rapper has claimed the final image is transformative enough to circumvent copyright protections, and she has denied that Brophy suffered distress over the cover, as only part of the tattoo is shown, and the model is a Black man, while Brophy is white.
While defending his client, Cardi’s attorney Peter Anderson downplayed claims that people who know Brophy could mistake the model for him, as Brophy also has neck tattoos that are not present on the cover model.
On Wednesday, the judge overseeing the trial briefly stopped the proceedings to admonish both sides after Cappello and Cardi got into a heated argument while she was testifying on the stand.
After sending the jury out, the judge chastised both sides and described the argument as ‘unprofessional’ and ‘not productive,’ according to the AP.
The plaintiff’s attorney and the defendant went back and forth over the cover image, with Cardi reportedly getting angry by some of his questions.
She pointed out that Brophy’s face was not shown in the photo and bristled when Cappello asked about her knowledge of photo-editing softwares.
She also contended that he has not suffered, as he didn’t appear to have lost his job or been hindered with his employment prospects.
After leaving court, the hitmaker (born Belcalis Almánzar) shared a short clip of herself still dressed in her court attire while listening to Sorrows by Bryson Tiller.
She mouthed along with the lyrics while running her fingers through her hair, before flashing a peace sign at the camera.
