Everyone, celebrities included, has skeletons in their closet.
After an Instagram video made three years ago re-surfaced, American rapper Cardi B admitted to drugging and robbing men during her time as a stripper, according to Vox.
After a firestorm on social media, Cardi has since apologized for the video and attributed her actions to the limited options she had.
Many people are comparing what she did to the acts of disgraced actor Bill Cosby. To me, this comparison is unfair, as the circumstances between Cardi’s actions and Cosby’s actions are different.
Despite the circumstances, what she did was abhorrent and morally wrong and there are no excuses for it. Same goes for Cosby, but I want to look at both sides of Cardi’s story in this article.
Before claiming success, Cardi wasn’t quite living “the American Dream.” Cardi said she had to resort to stripping to make ends meet, and that nothing was handed to her.
What she did, in her eyes, which is the drugging and robbing, were essential to her survival. I doubt stripping alone would’ve been enough to pull her out of the clutches of poverty.
I’ll never know her situation for myself, but she appears genuine in her explanation.
I think that a lot of people would also resort to morally questionable methods if put in a dire situation similar to Cardi’s.
However, taking advantage of someone and robbing them of their possessions should never be on the list of options.
Despite this, I understand where she’s coming from to an extent.
One of my favorite songs by rock band Cage the Elephant, “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” talks about some of the extents people will go to for survival. The song talks about a sex worker, a street-robber and a thieving priest all doing morally questionable things to make ends meet.
The famous quote from the song, “there ain’t no rest for the wicked,” resonates with Cardi’s story, hence why I think comparing her actions to Cosby’s isn’t completely fair.
This doesn’t mean that anyone, including Cardi, has a free pass to drug and rob people. Honest work should always be the first option.
Unlike Cardi, Cosby didn’t drug people to survive. Cosby was in a position of power that he exploited to take advantage of women. I sympathize more with Cardi’s plight, but her actions are still reprehensible and should be punished.
Unlike Cosby, I don’t think Cardi’s past will hit her the same way.
Cardi did a much better job than Cosby at owning up to the situation. Cardi admitted to the wrongdoings, apologized and explained herself.
For this reason, I don’t think her career will be hit that hard. Her reputation won’t be the same, but a lot of people will likely forget about it and wrongfully brush it off.
This story may end up helping her career by giving her new ideas for song lyrics that might resonate with people. Given her explanation and treatment of the situation, I don’t think Cardi will fade off.
I want to see Cardi punished, but we have to learn to forgive and not hold it over someone’s head. I want to encourage everyone to look at both sides of every story and empathize with others.
Not everything is black and white.
