Cardi B Shuts Down Rumors She Shaded Nicki Minaj With Maternity Shoot

Originally appeared on E! Online

Cardi B isn't letting anyone finesse her intentions.

The "WAP" rapper, who is pregnant with her and estranged husband Offset's third baby, denied that she was subtly shading Nicki Minaj with her recent maternity shoot.

In photos shared to Instagram Sept. 1, Cardiā€”who also shares daughter Kulture, 6, and son Wave, 3, with the Migos rapperā€”put her baby bump on full display while sitting on a motorcycle in front of a store covered in graffiti. And in one of the snaps, the word "pedophile" is spray-painted atop the word "homesick."

Some fans thought the detail was an intentional diss towards Nicki's husband of five years Kenneth Petty, a registered sex offender who was convicted of attempted rape in the first degree in 1995.

ā€œLol wait why thereā€™s Pedophile written on the wall??" one user wrote on X, "Is this a nicki shade?ā€

Another added, "Cardi B seems to be taunting Nicki Minajā€™s family by taking photos in front of graffiti that reads ā€˜pedophile.'"

But Cardi didn't let the rumors last long. She quickly shut down speculation that the photos were a jab at the "Super Bass" rapper, explaining that she "picked a random street" to do the photo shoot on because "paparazzi was hounding us everywhere."

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"This was supposed to be my original first picture," Cardi continued in a Sept. 2 message on X, "and we had to edit the photos in minutes because the shoot got leaked.ā€

Noting that she didn't have time to "go over every detail" in the shots, Cardi added, "Iā€™m ALWAYS with the s--ts but Iā€™m not using MY MATERNITY shoot to be funny. Are you dumb??ā€

Nicki Minaj, Cardi B
Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock / Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

Still, the Grammy winner acknowledged that she has a history of feuding with Nicki dating as far back as 2017, when rumors circulated that Migos had added Cardi's verse to their song "Motorsport" without consulting Nicki, who was also featured on the track. A year later, video surfaced of Cardi yelling and throwing her shoe at the "Chun Li" rapper while leaving Harperā€™s Bazaarā€™s ICONS New York fashion week party.

"If I wanted to be petty" Cardi said in another Sept. 2 message on X. "I wouldā€™ve posted a lot of memes last week."

The 31-year-old added, "If Iā€™m saying Iā€™m not on that time DONT MAKE ME GET ON THAT TIME. Unrist yourself!!"

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