Cardi B is setting the record straight on conversations surrounding colorism and her rise to superstardom, insisting her rise to superstardom, insisting her achievements should not be reduced to her complexion.

The Grammy-winning rapper took to social media on Monday (November 2), responding to comments made by podcaster Damona ‘Mona’ Love of ‘Don’t Call Me White Girl,’ who recently questioned whether Cardi’s lighter skin tone and Dominican heritage had helped accelerate her success.

Full story below…

Love argued that the Bronx-bred star benefits from colorism, particularly when it comes to securing brand partnerships and opportunities, saying:

“Cardi is very talented … but part of the reasons why she’s there is because she’s light,” Love said. To add a little more on it, the fact that she’s Dominican, Puerto Rican, mixed … my experience in this country is, if you’re not white — if you got some kind of foreign on you, that’s even more special.”

Joe Budden says Cardi B didnt benefit from COLORISM.

Mona explains her recent comments on Cardi B saying Light Skin NOT being a help to her career

Full 12 min segment here: https://t.co/pnT3xQFEYi https://t.co/IR9odgQ4pi

— Micah Jung Un (@Micah_W17) October 31, 2026

However, Cardi was quick to push back on the suggestion that her appearance was the driving force behind her career. Taking to X, she wrote:

“I know that colorism is real I never denied that I seen it for myself, but what Im always going to stand up for is that my skin tone is not solely the reason for my success.”

Reflecting on her early struggles, the ‘Bodak Yellow‘ hitmaker recalled being criticised for her appearance, including her teeth, acne and hairstyles, before the industry embraced her.

She also maintained that record labels initially struggled to envision her as a star, adding:

“Everybody said no!!. They said it wasn’t gonna happen for me because i wasn’t the kinda woman people wanted to see. I had to work my a** off to get where I am”

In conclusion, Cardi wrote:

“I will never not acknowledge the prejudice in our system… we can acknowledge that reality without diminishing my accomplishments or my experience.”

Read Cardi’s full statement:

“The reason why im giving this statement is because ya like to clip my lives… So ima give ya this and go. If we going to talk about what I said lets talk about everything that I said in the 15 minute live from 2024 that got cut down to 13 seconds. I know that colorism is real  I never denied that I seen it for myself. When I worked in the strip club, I seen how men treated me and how they treated dark skin women… I can never dismiss how colorism affects dark skin women and men in general. Not just in the work place but in the justice system as well. And I have stood up for it plenty of times . But what Im always going to stand up for is that my skin tone is not solely the reason for my success. Maybe some of ya missed a chapter but let me tell ya a little bit about my come up… and I have the right to talk about it because it was my experience. When i was coming up people saw my skin last. They saw my teeth first.. the acne on my forehead.. my dusty braids and they called me a dirty stripper. I wasnt the traditional beauty standard that made a man or a label want to invest in me. My skin tone wasnt enough to convince anyone I was a star. Everybody said no!! they said it wasn’t gonna happen for me because i wasn’t the kinda woman people wanted to see. I had to work my ass off to get where I am ..I had to prove and I still gotta prove over and over again that im more than the way i speak.. more than the way i look.. and more than the color of my skin. This is the exact reason why I was defending myself then and im defending myself now. There are other light skinned women in this industry who got the same access as me but haven’t gotten the same deals or opportunities as me and I addressed this on that live. and thats where it comes down to your true marketing value. I take pride in studying my audience learning the consumer and being reliable. Yes it may be easier for a light skin woman to get her foot in the door compared to a darker skin woman and ive never denied that.. but what keeps you in the room is the work… the strategy… the consistency AND the talent. I work hard to get in these rooms and I work harder to stay there… and I also work hard for ya cuz low key I work for you. The fans are the boss   Am i upset with Mona?? Yes!!  You been in my DMs for years asking me about personal advice… surgery advice.. and career advice. If my success is because of my light skin why you asking me how to pitch yourself and how to get brand deals?? We have talked about so many different things and out of all the things we talked about why you couldnt ask me about a 13 second clip you saw from a 15 minute live in 2024 where i addressed everything that you bringing up? You went out your way to make a video with no context when this wasnt even a topic on no blogs and no platforms.. literally nobody was talking about this. Why would you go on your platform to talk about something you were misinformed about instead of doing your due diligence or at least hitting me up like you do about anything else? I know why … because you decided to use me and a sensitive topic as a scapegoat. a topic I havent talked about in years that you randomly brought up. And now im getting dragged for it. You used me as shield because you was under fire for the backlash you was getting for talking about Tia Kemp another black woman all because she was selling more tickets than you! Because according to you… Tia Kemp dont do stand up comedy to your taste. Why do you think youre more deserving than her? Because you light skinned with a fat ass??? Then you claim you were bigging me up.. same way you fake gave Tia some props and then tore her down… but what you was really doin was taking my success away and saying its all because of my skin tone. Whats that if it’s not colorism? I will never not acknowledge the prejudice in our system… we can acknowledge that reality without diminishing my accomplishments or my experience.”

With that, what are…

Your thoughts?

[Photo Credit: Atlantic]

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