Cardi B hits back at criticism after posing in front of graffiti with word ‘pedophile’ in maternity photoshoot

‘First of all we literally picked a random street because paparazzi was hounding us everywhere,’ the rapper writes on X

Cardi B hit back at the criticism by claiming she hadn’t noticed the graffiti (AFP via Getty)

Cardi B has defended her maternity photoshoot, after she was criticized for posing in front of a sign that had the word “pedophile” written in graffiti.

The 31-year-old singer – who’s expecting her third baby with ex-husband Offset – took to X (formerly known as Twitter) on September 2 to address the criticism over the photoshoot. In the images, shared to her Instagram account, Cardi B was sitting on a motorcycle, wearing a gray matching bra and pants, and a long, multi-colored leather jacket.

As she had her hand under her baby bump, fans were quick to question why she posed in front of what appeared to be a garage door, which had the word “pedophile” written in the background in white graffiti. The writing was also over blue and white, bubble-lettered graffiti that read the word: “Homesick.”

She was met with criticism in the comments of the post, with some people claiming she was “so weird” for posing in front of this background. However, amid the backlash, Cardi B didn’t hesitate to hit back and make clarifications about her photoshoot.

“First of all we literally picked a random street because paparazzi was hounding us everywhere... this was supposed to be my original first picture and we had to edit the photos in minutes because the shoot got leaked,” the “WAP” singer wrote on X.

After once again acknowledging that she didn’t originally notice the white graffiti in the background, she criticized fans who claimed that her maternity shoot was a joke.

“Didn’t even have time to go over every detail because people were busy trying to expose my pregnancy as ‘aha’ moment…,” Cardi B continued. “Second I’m ALWAYS with the s***s but I’m not using MY MATERNITY shoot to be funny. Are you dumb??”

When another fan responded to Cardi B’s post – with claims that she’s a “whole celebrity with a PR team” – she once again hit back in a separate post. She defended her team on the set of the photoshoot who didn’t notice the graffiti of the word “pedophile,” before telling critics to leave her be.

“A team?? B**** my makeup artist touched up the picture because we didn’t have time for all that, it says the date and time nobody was paying attention to the graffiti… second if I wanted to be petty I would’ve posted a lot of memes last week..” she wrote. “I KEEP TELLIN YALL TO LEAVE ME THE F*** ALONE !! If I’m saying I’m not on that time DON’T MAKE ME GET ON THAT TIME. Unrist yourself!!”

In the initial Instagram post, which featured her photoshoot, Cardi B also shared a snap of her baby’s ultrasound. “I wanna meet my little boo boo soo bad already,” she wrote in the caption.

The “I Like It” singer first took to Instagram last month to announce her pregnancy, sharing a photo of herself wearing an all-red outfit with a fur coat while showcasing her baby bump.

“With every ending comes a new beginning! I am so grateful to have shared this season with you, you have brought me more love, more life and most of all renewed my power!” her caption read. “You’ve reminded me that I never have to choose between life, love, and my passion! I love you so much and can not wait for you to witness what you helped me accomplish, what you pushed me to do! It’s so much easier taking life’s twists, turns and test laying down, but you, your brother and your sister have shown me why it’s worth it to push through!”

The news came after Cardi B once again filed for divorce from Offset, who she also shares six-year-old daughter, Kulture, and two-year-old son, Wave. In August, a representative for Cardi B not only confirmed to Page Six that she’d filed for divorce again, after six years of marriage, but she was also seeking primary custody of their children.