For years, culture critic Jason Lee has been covering celebrity news on his popular platform Hollywood Unlocked. Now, the famed blogger is sitting down with the stars behind the most important stories on his new REVOLT series, “The Jason Lee Show .” On Wednesday (Jan. 18), the executive producer dropped his inaugural episode with an extra special guest, Grammy Award-winning rapper and songwriter Cardi B.
The 30-year-old, born Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, has been busy balancing her successful music career and family. She told host Lee that she hadn’t sat down for an interview in a while, noting that she is an introvert despite her lively online persona, which is often described as raw yet relatable. Still, that didn’t appear to keep the international entertainer from having an unfiltered conversation about several topics, including marriage, personal struggles, and her experience with plastic surgery.
The “Press” rapper clarified, “I always wanted to do certain things” before addressing speculations behind the popular trend and the assumptions that, “When you do surgery or something, you’re insecure about yourself or you hate yourself.” She noted, “That’s just not the truth,” then added, “I just be feeling like if I want to correct something, I want to do a little something, I don’t give a f**ck, I’m going to do it. I just like being perfect. I like a certain type of body for myself, and if I want to do it, I do it.”
Cardi B also discussed the dangers of getting plastic surgery. The “Money” emcee said she was forced to get her nose done in 2020 following the release of her smash single “WAP” featuring Megan Thee Stallion after a botched filler procedure left her nose looking longer. “It got wider, and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, what the f**k?’ I f**ked up my nose. I [had] no choice but to actually do my nose,” she explained.
When asked why she used a filling technique to slim her nose, the entertainer confessed that she got the idea from Instagram and that it made sense then, but she is happy with her current look and doesn’t plan on getting any more work done.
The “Up” rapper’s transparency is just one of the many factors contributing to her rise in the entertainment business. Yet, as Cardi’s popularity has grown, so has the criticism over the topics she chooses to address. Recently, some social media users blasted the mother of two for airing her frustration over inflation and the increasing price of groceries.
The entertainer addressed remarks that she is too far removed from the average individual, given her success, to be complaining. Cardi clarified, “I be outside. I be in Target, I be in the supermarket” before adding, “I make a lot of runs myself because I don’t like being in the house a lot.”
“I have to do things myself. I gotta go shopping myself,” Cardi continued. “And then when I’m seeing the prices… I remember when I used to go grocery shop when I used to live in my little apartment in Edgewater — everything has tripled. Like, this s**t is real.”
Elsewhere, the internet sensation-turned-platinum-selling artist opened up about her challenges, including how difficult it was to embrace her newfound stardom. Early in her career, Cardi often engaged in online spats with trolls and even feuded with various publications over an influx of coverage about her personal life.
The “Bartier Cardi” rapper said she often misinterpreted why some outlets would cover her, not understanding that her growing popularity meant becoming a trendy topic to discuss.
She even referenced her feud with the popular blog site The Shade Room, stating, “In the beginning – I think in 2017 or 2018 – I didn’t really understand that… I didn’t want to keep getting posted. Every tweet that I say, every clap back that I say, every comment that I say, anything that I like, [all of the] bulls**t that goes down in [my relationships].” She added, “It was just literally driving me crazy because fame came to me, and it all hit me all at once.”
The conversation took an intimate turn when Cardi B opened up about her marriage to Migos rapper Offset. She revealed that she and the “Clout” emcee were “not seeing eye-to-eye” during her pregnancy with their son and second child, Wave Set Cephus, noting, “This was like the same year I filed for divorce and everything.”
“I’m gonna let him talk about this because the main thing that was really bothering me, I’ma let him say it,” Cardi explained. “I want him to say it because I feel like that’s really part of his story… The main thing that I wanted him to stop and everything, he stopped, and he changed, and it showed me that he wanted to change for me,” she added.
The entertainers secretly tied the knot in September 2017. However, Cardi filed for divorce three years later amid allegations that Offset stepped out on their relationship.
When asked what made her stick around, Cardi explained, “You could just see when somebody’s trying.” She continued, “And I feel like we got married so young, and we got married so spontaneously. And we didn’t know each other, but we was in love with each other, and we had a little toxic relationship.” Cardi revealed she and Offset married only six months after meeting, telling Lee, “In those six months, we would see each other like twice or three times a month.” The emcee said that eventually, with the help of therapy, they grew as individuals. “We grew with each other,” she admitted.
Later, Cardi detailed the moment she and Offset learned about Takeoff’s passing. The pair were in bed when both of their cellphones began ringing. “We were supposed to go to La La’s party in New York, and my daughter threw up all over my costume,” she revealed. “So we just fell asleep, and out of nowhere, Offset’s phone kept ringing, my phone kept ringing, and Offset picked up the phone, and he was just like, ‘No!’ He’s screaming and screaming. He’s screaming like, ‘No! No! No! No!’ I’m like, ‘What’s going on?’ And he’s like, ‘Takeoff is dead.’”
Cardi disclosed, “I smacked him and said, ‘Don’t say that!’ And then he’s just, like, screaming and throwing things, throwing up, running all over. And I was so scared. I was crying so much.”
The conversation continued as the rapper discussed parenting and meeting and having dinner with French fashion designer Christian Louboutin. There was also a special game of “Smash or Pass” with a musical twist. Like always, if you liked what you heard, be sure to stay tuned every week for new episodes of “The Jason Lee Show.” Also, don’t forget to watch the premiere here.