SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) 鈥� A heated exchange between rapper Cardi B and the lawyer for a got so intense Wednesday that the judge briefly stopped the trial.
The Grammy winner delivered pointed answers to several questions by attorney A. Barry Cappello, who is representing a man who claims the rapper misused his likeness on the cover of a 2016 mixtape.
The testy back-and-forth between the Cappello and the star witness prompted U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney to send jurors out of the Santa Ana, California courtroom and tell both sides he was considering a mistrial. After a break, he called the arguing 鈥渦nprofessional鈥� and 鈥渘ot productive鈥� but allowed questioning to resume 鈥� placing new restrictions for both sides.
Kevin Michael Brophy is seeking $5 million from Cardi B over the appearance of some of his distinctive back tattoos on the mixtape鈥檚 artwork, which shows a tattooed man from behind with his head between the rapper鈥檚 legs.
The rapper said she felt Brophy hadn鈥檛 suffered any consequences as a result of the artwork, yet has harassed her legally for five years. At one point she said she missed a special moment with her youngest child, who recently turned 1-year-old.
鈥淚 have empathy for people,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 care about people. I feel like I鈥檓 being taken advantage of. I missed my child鈥檚 first step by being here.鈥�
Brophy told jurors Tuesday that he felt 鈥渉umiliated鈥� by the racy artwork.
At one point, Cardi B pointed out that the man鈥檚 face cannot be seen in the artwork. Capello asked her to calm down, but she instead barked back at the lawyer鈥檚 contention that she knew about photo-editing software used to put Brophy鈥檚 tattoos 鈥� which have been featured in magazines 鈥� on another model鈥檚 body.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not your client鈥檚 back,鈥� she said about the image, which features a Black model. Brophy is white. The rapper said she posted a photo of the 鈥渇amous Canadian model鈥� on her social media.
Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Almanzar, said an artist used only a 鈥渟mall portion鈥� of the tattoos without her knowledge. She had previously said the cover art 鈥� created by Timm Gooden 鈥� was transformative fair use of Brophy鈥檚 likeness.
Cappello said Gooden was paid $50 to create a design but was then told to find another tattoo after he turned in an initial draft. He said Gooden googled 鈥渂ack tattoos鈥� before he found an image and pasted it on the cover.
Cardi B鈥檚 lawyer, Peter Anderson, said Brophy and the mixtape image are unrelated, noting the model did not have neck tattoos, which Brophy does.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not him,鈥� the rapper said. 鈥淭o me, it doesn鈥檛 look like his back at all. The tattoo was modified, which is protected by the First Amendment.鈥�
She said the image hasn鈥檛 hindered Brophy鈥檚 employment with a popular surf and skate apparel brand or his ability to travel the world for opportunities.
鈥淗e hasn鈥檛 gotten fired from his job,鈥� said Cardi B, who implied that the mixtape was not a lucrative one for her. 鈥淗e hasn鈥檛 gotten a divorce. How has he suffered? He鈥檚 still in a surf shop at his job. Please tell me how he鈥檚 suffered.鈥�
Brophy, a self-described family man, said he sent a cease-and-desist letter to Cardi B鈥檚 representatives to remove the image, but he never received a response. The rapper said she hadn鈥檛 seen the letter.
At one point, Cardi B said she doesn鈥檛 check her mailbox because that鈥檚 for 鈥渙ld people鈥� 鈥� leading some in the courtroom to chuckle.
When Cardi B left the courthouse, she was swarmed by around 30 high schoolers who were attempting to take selfies with her. As the rapper walked toward her vehicle with security, she smiled and waved before telling them she would be more responsive after the trial.
Last month, Cardi B to a criminal case stemming from a pair of brawls at New York City strip clubs that required her to perform 15 days of community service. Earlier this year, the rapper was awarded $1.25 million in a against a celebrity news blogger who posted videos falsely stating she used cocaine, had contracted herpes and engaged in prostitution.
Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press
