“Do you remember when the FCC almost sued me for performing ‘WAP’ at the Grammys?” Cardi B asked on Twitter today. “What about when all the republicans literally harassed me over it? It was on the news every day. Do you remember? Because 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 B is looking back on the backlash she faced after her performance of the provocative song “WAP” with Megan Thee Stallion at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Although the controversy has faded away, Cardi B still remembers the criticism she received from Republicans and the threat of legal action from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for daring to embrace her sexuality as a woman in the public eye.
In case you need a reminder, here’s what happened: Following the show-stopping performance, former Fox News host Tucker Carlson expressed concern about the impact of “WAP” on children during his show, even though he played most of the performance clip from the night before. Conservative commentator Candace Owens called the performance an “attack on American values,” and the FCC received over 1,000 complaints of indecency (complaints that Cardi B herself dismissed with a laugh).
But what was the real reason behind all this feigned outrage? Cardi B’s theory is that “they secretly like it.” They certainly seemed to enjoy the attention and advertising revenue that came from complaining about it. However, since then, Tucker Carlson has been fired, Candace Owens now agrees with Cardi B, and the Republican political establishment has redirected its anger towards drag shows, with predictably unsuccessful results. This just goes to show that you don’t want to get on Cardi B’s bad side. Even when she wins, she never forgets.
Cardi B is an artist signed to Warner Music. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
