Cardi B has fired back at US President Donald Trump‘s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with a jab about the Epstein Files.
During Wednesday’s (February 11) Palm Desert, California, stop on her ‘Little Miss Drama’ tour, the rapper paused her show to speak to the crowd in a now-viral moment.
“If ICE come in here, we’re gonna jump they asses,” she told the audience. “I got some bear mace in the back. They ain’t taking my fans, bitch. Let’s go!” she added, before launching into ‘I Like It’.
Her comments soon caught the attention of Trump’s DHS, who posted a TMZ story about the show on X, alongside the caption: “As long as she doesn’t drug and rob our agents, we’ll consider that an improvement over her past behaviour.”
Their post is in reference to a 2016 video of Cardi where she says she drugged and robbed men while she worked as a stripper before becoming famous.
Cardi addressed the backlash in March 2019, sharing a statement which read: “I made the choices that I did at the time because I had very limited options. I was blessed to have been able to rise from that, but so many women have not. Whether or not they were poor choice at the time, I did what I had to do to survive.”
In response to the DHS post, Cardi then fired back, writing: “If we talking about drugs let’s talk about Epstein and friends drugging underage girls to rape them. Why yall don’t wanna talk about the Epstein files?”
If we talking about drugs let’s talk about Epstein and friends drugging underage girls to rape them. Why yall don’t wanna talk about the Epstein files? https://t.co/U7yCarPIXs
— Cardi B (@iamcardib) February 12, 2026
The artist is referencing the three million new documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein released on January 30 from the Department of Justice, which included 2,000 videos and roughly 180,000 images. The release is the latest in a slew of material released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act, a law intended to reveal information collected during two decades of investigations involving the late convicted paedophile.
Epstein was arrested in July 2019 for sex trafficking and was found dead in his jail cell in August of that year, with authorities later determining that he hanged himself. Following his death, a sustained campaign emerged, pushing for the full publication of all documents and photos that would reveal the high-profile names he associated with.
The files reportedly contain more than 38,000 references to Trump, his wife, Melania, his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida, and other related words and phrases, per the New York Times.
The president has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein and has said he did not know about his crimes.
As well as Cardi B, there has been a long list of figures in the entertainment industry expressing similar views on Trump and ICE in recent weeks, including Bad Bunny, who delivered a scathing speech at the Grammys while picking up Album of the Year. “We are not savage, we are not animals, we are not aliens, we are humans and we are Americans,” he said.
Billie Eilish was another to say “fuck ICE” from the Grammys stage, and despite receiving backlash of her own, Mark Ruffalo and Finneas were among those to rush to her support.
Green Day told ICE agents to “quit their shitty ass job” during a pre-Super Bowl warm-up gig in San Francisco last week, while Bruce Springsteen penned a new track ‘Streets Of Minneapolis’ to criticise ICE’s recent actions in the city.
He debuted the track at a recent benefit show hosted by Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, who delivered his own fiery speech in support of the protesters in Minneapolis and beyond.
Meanwhile, Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland has said “fuck ICE” and implored any Trump supporters to stop following him on social media.
Jack White is another who has been repeatedly outspoken, recently calling for Trump to be removed from office after a racist meme was shared on his Truth Social account, while Lady Gaga interrupted a Tokyo concert last week to condemn ICE and call for “mercy”.
For help, advice or more information regarding sexual harassment, assault and rape in the UK, visit the Rape Crisis charity website. In the US, visit RAINN.