US judge orders release of Cardi B’s medical records amid bitter STD defamation lawsuit
A US judge has ordered the release of Cardi B’s medical records in the STD libel and defamation lawsuit the rapper slapped against YouTuber Latasha Kebe.
Cardi’s lawyer Lisa Moore told Rolling Stone that her client welcomed US District Judge William Ray’s ruling delivered on Monday (23 November).
Judge Ray ordered the University of California, Los Angeles Centre for Women’s Pelvic Health to send him all the medical reports that “related solely to [Cardi] testing for herpes and HPV.”
The “WAP” singer’s STD test results are an important piece of evidence in her underlying libel and defamation lawsuit, which she filed in March 2019 against Kebe.
At the time, Cardi accused Kebe of damaging her reputation by making false claims about the singer on her YouTube channel UnWineWithTashaT.
In her lawsuit, Cardi said Kebe wrongly alleged in “multiple vlogs that garnered millions of views” that the singer used to be a prostitute and a cocaine user and that she had contracted herpes and HPV.
Responding to Judge William’s Monday ruling, Moore told the publication that Cardi does not have HPV and herpes.
“Two of the defamatory statements at issue are the vile, false, and highly offensive statements by the defendant that my client has herpes and HPV, and we provided these [STD testing] records 14 months ago in support of my client’s claims,” she said.
However, Kebe reportedly challenged the medical records provided by Cardi earlier at a sealed hearing on 9 November, after which Judge Ray ordered the hospital to furnish the singer’s medical records for court inspection “as soon as possible”.
Kebe’s lawyer Sadeer Sabbak told Rolling Stone on Wednesday (24 November) that the YouTuber had “no comment” on Cardi’s medical records specifically.
The case is set to go for trial on 5 January next year in a federal Georgia court, during which Cardi’s legal team will seek to prove the singer’s accusation that Kebe was running a “malicious campaign” against her.
“Plaintiff was never a prostitute or a user of cocaine. Plaintiff has never, and does not now, have herpes, nor has she had herpes outbreaks on her mouth,” her lawsuit stated.
Kebe previously countersued Cardi for assault and intentional inflection of emotional distress, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by Rolling Stone.
Kebe alleged Cardi’s fans had threatened her online after the singer “began to publicly trash” Kebe online, amid their on-going legal feud.
Judge Ray had dismissed Kebe’s claims earlier this year, citing a lack of evidence.
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