Cardi B has seemingly responded to Idris Elba, who slammed conspiracy theories that celebrities have been paid to say they tested positive for coronavirus.
In a new IG TV video—where Cardi can be seen wearing a face mask—the rapper addressed the notion that because test kits are limited, health officials have urged people to wait to get tested until they’re symptomatic. The situation has become confusing for the public since a number of celebrities have had access to tests without being visibly sick.
Clarifying her position with the caption, “I said what I said,” Cardi said that Trump breeds confusion when he tells the general public, “‘Do not get tested because we do not have enough test kits to test everybody.’ But if a celebrity is saying, ‘Hey, listen, I don’t have no symptoms, I’m feeling good, I feel healthy, I don’t feel like nothing, but I went and got tested and I’m positive for the coronavirus—that causes confusion.”
“That makes people be like, ‘Well, wait a minute now. I don’t have no symptoms, but I know I went out this and that day. Shit, I might just have it. Shit, I’m scared because I’m around my kid, I’m around my grandparent. What should I do?’” she continued.
Cardi then addressed some of the failings of our health guidances, including isolating yourself when you test positive. “A lot of people live in small-ass apartments with multiple people,” she continued, explaining how easy it is to infect your spouse and children. “On top of that, a lot of celebrities have the luxury to pay $34,000 or whatever the fuck it cost to get tested and treated. A lot of these people don't have that money! Some people don't even have enough money to fucking afford health care!”
“This could have been prevented months ago when they found out the shit it was doing in China. They shouldn't be charging Medicaid, health insurance, none of that shit. This is y'all fault it got in the motherfucking country.”
The back-and-forth between Cardi and Elba began earlier this week, when the rapper took to Instagram and demanded that the U.S. government improve its response to the pandemic. At one point during the video, B touched on the NBA players who were tested even when they were asymptomatic.
“[The government] not really saying what it is. Tell me what it is and what it ain’t. I’m starting to feel like y’all n***as is paying n***as to say that they got it. If y’all are…pay me too.”
Elba indirectly responded to Cardi on Tuesday via an Instagram Live session.
“I think the debate about rich and poor and who's getting it and who's not, I think, is not a healthy debate,” Elba said. “It's like, I got a test but I also got COVID. Does that make me preferential? I don't understand that.” Elba's partner Sabrina Dhowre has also tested positive.
He continued, “I think that the negativity around test-shaming is counterproductive. I don't see what people get out of that. And also this idea that someone like myself is gonna be paid to say I've got coronavirus? That's absolute bullshit. Such stupidness. People wanna spread that as if it's news. That's stupid. It's the quickest way to get people sick because there's no benefit to me and Sabrina sitting here saying we've got it or we ain't got it. I don't even understand the logic of that.”
