“Y’all remember when the FCC almost sued me cuz I performed WAP at the Grammys?” Cardi B asked on Twitter today. “What about when all the republicans literally harassed me over it? On the news everyday… Y’all remember? Oooohhh cuz I do.”
Y’all remember when the FCC almost sued me cuz I performed WAP at the Grammys? What about when all the republicans literally harassed me over it? On the news everyday… Y’all remember? Oooohhh cuz I do
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) June 28, 2023
Cardi is, of course, reflecting on the weeks-long backlash to the 2021 Grammy Awards performance of her raunchy hit song, “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion. While the news cycle has long since moved on, with conservative commentators finding plenty of other outrage-bait with which they could incite their audience, Cardi B — like Pepperidge Farms — remembers the aggravation they heaped on her for the audacity of celebrating her sexuality as a woman in the public eye.
In case you forgot, here’s a recap: After the show-stopping performance, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson worried that “WAP” would “hurt our children” on his show — while playing nearly the entire titillating performance from the night before, conservative grifter Candace Owens called the show an “attack on American values,” and the Federal Communications Commission supposedly fielded over 1,000 complaints of indecency (complaints Cardi herself laughed off).
What was the reason for all this faux consternation? Cardi’s theory is that “they secretly like it.” They definitely seemed to enjoy the attention (and advertising dollars) complaining about it brought them, but since then, Tucker’s been fired, Candace is now agreeing with Cardi, and the Republican political apparatus has turned its ire against drag shows — which is going about as well as you’d think. It just goes to show, you don’t want to get on Cardi’s bad side; even when she wins, she doesn’t let anything go.
Cardi B is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.