Cardi B has revealed that she desperately wanted to recruit Lizzo for the “WAP” music video. Her collaboration and accompanying visual with Megan Thee Stallion saw Kylie Jenner, Normani, Rosalía, and more feature, but was the world ready for Lizzo in the line-up? We won’t ever know.

Cardi says that Lizzo unfortunately couldn’t make an appearance because of scheduling clashes. “I’m cool with Lizzo and everything. Like, we’ve been sending DMs to each other and all that,” she told Hot 97. “But she was on vacation and she wasn’t in town.”

“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh,’ because I had a whole vision about how I want to see Lizzo and everything.”

Continuing, the rapper added that it was important for her to include “different women that are different races and come from different backgrounds but are so powerful and influential”.

“WAP” has spawned the “WAP” challenge, which sees TikTokers copy Cardi and Megan’s slick, sensual dance routine – splits and all. The music video has caused controversy, mostly in the wild disapproval of right wing pundits including Ben Shapiro, who Cardi subsequently mocked. Russell Brand also bizarrely shared an analysis of the video, questioning its “feminism” and referencing Conservative, ghoul, and former prime minister Margaret Thatcher.

“I didn’t think the song was as vulgar as they said it was, you know?” Cardi said of the blowback. “Like, I’m so used to it. I’m such a freak that I didn’t think it would be a big deal.”

Cardi B was recently revealed as the face of Balenciaga with a new campaign. Captured in lockdown lying on a patch of grass in a head-to-toe Balenciaga look and the label’s new Neo Classic bag, the rapper is surrounded by a bunch of toys, which presumably belong to baby Kulture. Posting the image on her Instagram, Cardi wrote: “Ya looking at the face of a Balenciaga campaign! I remember how I felt seeing myself on a billboard in NYC Times Square but Paris! Wish I was there to see it in person!” Right now, the image is plastered across the side of the Louvre, where it will stay for the next few weeks.