In a recent profile for Elle, Cardi B has drawn attention to the case of Breonna Taylor, the 26-year-old emergency medical technician who was fatally shot by police officers in Kentucky back in March, and whose death sparked nationwide protests alongside the killing of George Floyd.
Among her comments about the case, the rapper says that she wishes she saw more of her male counterparts speaking out about Taylor’s death. “A woman like Breonna Taylor, she was young,” Cardi says. “She looked like she was listening to your music. She looked like she was your fan. You should stick up for her.”
Taylor was killed by law enforcement when the Louisville Police Department entered her home with a no-knock warrant, reportedly firing 22 shots and shooting Taylor eight times. “That is so insane to me,” Cardi adds.
“What they did to her is really fucked up. Really fucked up. What’s the excuse? Why is the cop not in jail? Wasn’t what he did a crime? It’s a crime! And no apology. No apology. No video of the cop coming out crying, ‘I fucked up. I don’t this. I don’t that.’ Nothing. It’s nothing. I don’t even know how her mom still holds her head up. Unbelievable.”
Cardi B has previously joined calls for justice for Breonna Taylor on social media, alongside figures such as Beyoncé, who directed an open letter to Kentucky’s attorney general, as well as Jordan Peele, Ava DuVernay, and more.
An ongoing petition with over 10 million signatures calls for charges to be brought against the officers involved – John Mattingly, Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove, and Joshua Jaynes – and for wrongful death damages to be paid to Taylor’s family.
