Cardi B Back In Court — Rapper Accused of ‘Misappropriating Likeness’ Over Cover Art for 2016 ‘Gangsta B*tch Music, Vol. 1’ Mixtape

Cardi B Back In Court — Rapper Accused of ‘Misappropriating Likeness’ Over Cover Art for 2016 ‘Gangsta B*tch Music, Vol. 1’ Mixtape

Cardi B, (real name is Belcalis Almanzar), is in court once more.

Kevin Michael Brophy is suing the rapper for misappropriating his likeness in connection with the cover of her debut album, Gangsta Bitch Music, Vol. 1. The back tattoo seen on the cover belongs to Kevin Michael Brophy.

The trial, which is taking place at the federal courthouse in Santa Ana, California, began on Tuesday (October 18). Law & Crime senior reporter Meghann Cuniff provided live updates via Twitter.

Kevin Michael Brophy‘s lawyer, Barry Cappello, objected to the judge’s decision to permit use of the rapper’s stage name. Her attorneys disagreed, stating that that is how she is recognized and

“It would strike as artificial to use a name she’s not using professionally.”

Judge Cormac Carney then asked the 59 potential jurors what they thought of tattoos and images that depicted sexual activity. He said,

“It’s not pornographic, but it does suggest sexual activity. . . I’ll need to know if you have such strong feelings, primarily negative, that could impact your ability to be fair and impartial to both sides.”

A man and two women who stated in their opening statements that a trial featuring sex, tattoos, and rap music could be a little much for them were excused from jury duty by the judge. A financial advisor who does not have tattoos and has no strong opinions about others who do was also a potential juror.

Here is Kevin Brophy’s back tattoo, which is at the heart of his likeness misappropriation claim. pic.twitter.com/thuiAfHZkr

— Meghann Cuniff (@meghanncuniff) October 18, 2022

As previously reported, Brophy Jr. sued Cardi B in December 2020 for allegedly using his elaborate tattoo on a model’s back in the mixtape cover art. Cardi B is seen rubbing the head of a man whose face is between her legs in the artwork for the mixtape as she sits in what appears to be the backseat of a car, drinking beer.

Brophy Jr. wants at least $5 million, saying that the cover image destroyed his life. In addition to that, he’s accused Cardi B of misappropriating his likeness in

“a misleading, offensive, humiliating and provocatively sexual way.”

Following the initial filing of the suit, Cardi B argued that the cover image is transformative fair use of Brophy’s likeness, but Judge Cormac Carney disagreed. He previously said,

“To constitute a transformative fair use, the revised image must have significant transformative or creative elements to make it something more than mere likeness or imitation. A reasonable jury, in this case, could conclude that there are insufficient transformative or creative elements on the GBMV1 cover to constitute a transformative use of Plaintiff’s tattoo.”

Peter Anderson of Davis Wright Tremaine Law, who also represents Taylor Swift in the legal dispute around her song “Shake it Off,” is Cardi B‘s principal attorney.

What are your thoughts on the entire situation? Let us know in the comments!