Cardi B Calls Out ICE During California Concert
Cardi B didn’t hold back while addressing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a concert in California on Wednesday night.
The singer, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almanzar, kicked off her Little Miss Drama Tour at Acresure Arena in Palm Desert.
Mid-performance, while singing a brief part of “La Cucaracha,” she surveyed the crowd and inquired about the presence of Mexicans and Guatemalans. She boldly declared, “If ICE comes here, we’ll jump over them.” The energy in the crowd surged as she added, “Yeah, I got a bear mace in the back,” emphasizing, “They’re not taking my fans.” It was quite the moment.
Afterward, she transitioned into her popular track “I Like It,” but her comments did not go unnoticed by the Department of Homeland Security.
In a rather surprising move, the agency took to its official X-page, praising her anti-ICE stance by quote-retweeting her remarks. They humorously noted, “As long as she does not use drugs or rob an agent, we will consider her past behavior improved.” This comment alluded to her prior controversial admissions from a 2016 Instagram Live video about her experiences as a stripper.
In that earlier video, she candidly described some of her past choices: “You guys must have forgotten, my motherfucker, what I did to survive. I had to go strip.” She recounted how she drugged and robbed men during her time working in clubs, a stark representation of her struggle at that point in her life.
After her comments resurfaced in 2019, she addressed the backlash on social media. She emphasized that her past actions were decisions she felt forced to make for survival. “I will never claim to be perfect,” she stated, “but I will always speak my truth.” Cardi B pointed out that her experiences are a reflection of a culture that often doesn’t offer women many choices, indicating how easy it can be for someone to make difficult decisions in tough situations.
In conclusion, she made it clear: “I have a past I can’t change. Everyone has a past they can’t change.” It’s a reminder, perhaps, of the complexities we all navigate in our lives.
