We Live in a Post-Cardi B/Nicki Minaj Fight World Now

After years of tension bubbling under the surface, Cardi B and Nicki Minaj finally exploded Friday night in New York City. Naturally, it happened at Harper’s Bazaar’s Fashion Week party.

According to reports from the scene, Cardi approached Nicki’s table at the party. The “I Like It” rapper wanted to confront her rival about “the lies Nicki was spreading,” as told by sources in Cardi’s camp. Things escalated, and Cardi lunged at Nicki before security stopped her, as can be seen in on-site video.

Cardi also lost a shoe in the fight, which she apparently threw at Nicki. (She missed.)

There was some confusion in the immediate aftermath about whether Nicki was the other involved party at all — some reports claimed Nicki’s friend and TV personality Rah Ali was the other participant in the almost-fight. But Cardi herself seemed to clear things up with an Instagram post positively loaded with frustration with an unnamed (but heavily implied to be) Nicki. She accused Nicki of lying in the post, and even bringing up Cardi’s child and commenting on Cardi’s mothering.

Cardi and Nicki have both denied rumors of drama between them for years, though they’ve both admitted to some tension. Friday night’s fight feels like we’ve crossed a threshold; no longer is the drama being fabricated or blown out of proportion. This was a near-physical fight at a Fashion Week event. It almost feels like a news story from the late ’90s or early 2000s, before social media made celebrities more careful in person and messier online.

Of course, this story really wouldn’t be complete without our favorite Elon Musk mole, Azealia Banks, sharing her thoughts on Instagram Live. “We fight with our words, not our hands!” she said.

Azealia Banks: voice of reason in a Cardi B and Nicki Minaj fight. We never thought we’d see the day.