Cardi B Defends Her Use Of The Term "Light Skin" Amid Social Media Criticism

Another day, another round of trolls coming for Cardi B. On Wednesday (Sept. 4) evening, the New York rapper got into a debate with critics after using “light skin” to describe herself.

“Who [the f**k] told Cardi B she’s light skin? That term is used for lighter complexion Black folks, but y’all got everybody claiming it now,” wrote a Twitter user. She responded, “Dominicans are so diverse when it comes to skin color: dark, brown, tan, light [and] white. So, what am I supposed to say when I’m describing my complexion? I’m Dominican skin?”

Another person suggested, “Y’all need to come up with y’all own terms,” to which Cardi B replied in another now-deleted tweet, per Complex: “What you [are] saying is automatically invalid. The fact that you use whites… [White] is a color and a race. Dominicans are a nationality with people that are different colors and shades, not a race… Get your glitter hole out of here [with] this fake rule you just came up [with].”

The term light skin is adjective to describe skin complexion …It is not exclusive to a single race …I guess Jamaicans and Haitians and West Indians can’t say they got brown skin ,light skin or dark skin because just like Dominicans they are also a nationality..now move JAWS pic.twitter.com/TCK47z2t4V

— Cardi B (@iamcardib) September 4, 2024

She continued, “The term light skin is [an] adjective to describe skin complexion. It is not exclusive to a single race. I guess Jamaicans, Haitians and West Indians can’t say they [have] brown skin, light skin or dark skin because, just like Dominicans, they are also a nationality. Now move, JAWS.”

Cardi B has had to remind everyone that she is Afro-Latina on countless occasions. The “Up” rapper’s father is Dominican, while her mother is Trinidadian. In 2021, she shared throwback family pictures and a VIBE VIVA cover in response to speculation of whether she was Black or not.

Earlier in 2024, the Grammy Award winner unveiled “Like What (Freestyle)” and “Enough (Miami).” Although neither of the tracks are confirmed to appear on her forthcoming sophomore album, she announced in June that it’s “coming real soon.” Her features this year include Flo Milli’s “Never Lose Me (Remix)” alongside SZA and “Puntería” with Shakira.