Cardi B Appears in Court for Civil Trial, Accused of Physical and Verbal Abuse

Cardi B made her debut in court Monday for her civil trial in which a former security guard said the rapper ridiculed her, spit on her, and even cut her with a fingernail!

Emani Ellis took the stand in a Los Angeles courtroom and testified she first encountered Cardi at a Beverly Hills obstetrician's office, where Cardi had an appointment while 4 months pregnant in 2018.

Ellis testified she spotted Cardi and said, "Wow, that's Cardi B," prompting Cardi to get in her face and accuse her of using her phone to spread word of Cardi's private medical visit.

She testified Cardi took a "swing" at her while bombarding her with obscenities and mocking her weight and her job as a security guard.

Ellis also testified Cardi used a long fingernail to slice open her left cheek and spewed racial slurs while spitting on her and threatening to get her fired.

Monday, Ellis dropped the claim Cardi B plotted to get her fired. Turns out Ellis ended up losing her job, according to her testimony, but she says it was framed around a HIPAA violation rather than Cardi's threat.

By the way, Cardi was decked out in a black suit for her big day in court. She looked super professional as she sat with her lawyers at the defense table watching Ellis give testimony.

We broke the story in 2020 ... Cardi was 4 months pregnant with her daughter Kulture when she got into the spat with the security guard.