Cardi B and Candace Owens Have Clashed Over "WAP," Politics, and Everything in Between

While Cardi B came into the entertainment industry as a reality star-turned-rapper, those who have followed Belcalis's (Cardi's real name) career know she's never been afraid to talk politics. The Grammy winner has used her social media platform to discuss everything from social issues to past and upcoming elections.

Throughout Cardi's fearless approach to taking on the real issues she or her fans face, she's gained a few enemies from political commentators. One of her most consistent fallouts has been with conservative commentator Candace Owens.

Owens and Cardi have never been in the same room (thank goodness), but their X (formerly Twitter) squabbles are enough to see that they may never see eye to eye.

Keep scrolling to learn the origin story of their ongoing debates!

Cardi and Owens' friction began in what seemed to mark the beginning of a long stretch of unprecedented times. In August 2020, Cardi and Megan Thee Stallion entertained millions of fans during the COVID-19 pandemic with their song, "W.A.P." The song, an acronym for "wet a-- p---y," was quickly slammed by conservatives, especially Owens.

In September 2020, Owens spoke about the song on The Ben Shapiro Show. The chat included Owens slamming Cardi and her interview with then-presidential nominee, President Joe Biden. She also called the "Bodak Yellow" rapper "illiterate."

Cardi fired back on social media. In one September 2020 post, she reposted a 2018 tweet from Owens praising her for her success after she appeared on two seasons of Love & Hip Hop. She also fought against Owens' claims that Biden was using her to "pander" to Black voters by reposting a Black Americans laying their hands on former President Donald Trump.

Owens' initial issues continued on social media and in interviews. In March 2021, the political commentator appeared on Fox News, where she further slammed "WAP" and Cardi to host Tucker Carlson, calling the Cardi and Megan's performance of the song at the 2021 Grammys a "spectacle" and a display "of blatant nudity and sexualization,” per The Hill. The rapper sarcastically thanked Owens for mentioning her and Meg's song on the network.

“Matter fact I’m just going to thank Candy,” Cardi wrote in a since-deleted post. “She put my performance on Fox News giving it more views that boosted the views on YouTube and is counting towards my streams and sales.”

Cardi's tweet sparked a virtual exchange between her and Owens. At one point, Cardi posted several photos of Owens' husband George Farmer, and Owens' brother that appeared to show them having an affair. Owens tweeted back that the photos were photoshopped and declared she would be suing the "Best Life" artist.

“Just spoke with my family. I am 100 percent suing Cardi for that nonsense," Owens shared in March 2021 in a since-deleted tweet. "You can’t just start throwing out wild lies against private members of my family because you’re upset someone called you out on your degenerate performance."

Cardi threatened to countersue Owens for accusing her of sharing fake or edited photos. Neither lawsuit happened, but the disdain continued after Owens scolded Cardi while critiquing LeBron James' "liberal agenda" in 2022. Cardi clapped back on Instagram and accused Owens of threatening to sue her for $75,000 with "no case."

“Like how smart you are and don’t even know the law?" she asked Owens.

In July 2024, Cardi and Owens' beef continued after body cam footage circulated of Sonya Massey, a Black woman from Springfield, IL., being allegedly shot in her home by a white police officer, Sean Grayson. Owens addressed the shooting on her YouTube channel and defended Grayson, telling her audience, "Police officers are human beings; there are mistakes that happen." She also denied any inkling that Massey's alleged murder happened because she was a Black woman.

Owens' comments caught Cardi's attention. The mother of two dragged her political sparring partner online once again, telling her "Girl, shut up," on X Spaces and called her behavior "so disturbing," per The Root.

"For you to sit here and say that ‘Oh not everything is racial. I know that this is sad, but this is not something racial, there’s more white people that get killed by the cops’...Girl shut up.”” Cardi said.

The "Bongos" rapper then asked Owens where her "empathy" was for Massey and reminded her she wasn't marked safe from having the same situation happen to her due to Owens also being a Black woman.

“This could be you one day," Cardi warned Owens on X. "And it could be actually worse because you the type of person that if a cop stop you, you would get sassy at the mouth.”

Owens responded to Cardi in a follow-up YouTube video, proving this feud isn't going anywhere.