Cardi B being investigated after throwing microphone at audience member

Rapper was on stage in Las Vegas

Las Vegas Metro Police Department has opened a battery investigation into Cardi B after the rapper and a concertgoer got into an altercation while on stage over the weekend. Cardi hurled her microphone at an audience member after a woman threw a drink at the rapper during a show at Drai’s Nightclub on July 29th. Variety reports a battery was reported to LVPD on Sunday, one day after the altercation.

“On July 30, 2023, an individual came into an LVMPD police station to report a battery,” the LVMPD tells the publication. “According to the victim, she was attending an event on July 29, 2023, at a property located in the 3500 block of Las Vegas Boulevard. During a concert, she was struck by an item that was thrown from the stage.”

Videos circulating online show the person being escorted out by security and the rapper leaving the stage after she shared some strong words towards the concertgoer. Her vocal track continued to play through the sound system after she tossed her microphone into the audience.

It’s unclear if the woman who filed the report is the one who tossed the drink.

The incident involves two disturbing trends that have plagued the music industry lately — fans tossing objects at performers and artists “performing” to tracks.

Recently, Harry Styles was hit with an unidentified object while on stage in Vienna, Bebe Rexha was nearly knocked out after a fan hit her in the head with a cell phone in New York City, and Latto asked a Munich audience member if they “want your ass beat?” after tossing a projectile during her performance at Rolling Loud German earlier this month.

Fans tossing objects at performers is hardly new. Many audience members are used to seeing women toss their bras and underwear onto the stage with the artist often showing off the item and snickering. In the 1970s, Jimmy Page was injured after an M-80 firecracker was thrown onto the stage during a trend. In 2004, David Bowie had a lollipop stick injure his eye after someone tossed it from the crowd.

Cardi is among the latest artist to have been caught lip syncing live, a practice that has been common in many genres in recent years. Mariah Carey, Ashlee Simpson, Dua Lipa, and Britney Spears are among those who have been caught lip syncing while on stage.

While it’s a practice that’s been widely accepted as of late, it hasn’t always been that way. Milli Vanilli was first exposed and blacklisted from the industry after they were caught lip syncing on live TV in 1989. The duo’s manager also admitted that Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan never even recorded their vocals in the studio. However, Milli Vanilli were still awarded a Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990.