Cardi B sued for using the image of a back tattoo of a man for a raunchy cover art

Rapper Cardi B has landed herself in a court case thanks to the cover of her debut mixtape. A "man of faith"has sued Cardi for superimposing his back tattoo on a male model’s back who features on the cover seemingly performing oral sex on the rapper.

Kevin Michael Brophy has slapped a copyright infringement lawsuit against the Grammy-winning musician in federal court in southern California, seeking $5 million in damages.

Cardi B, whose actual name is Belcalis Almánzar, is expected to testify during the trial.

During her appearance in the court, the cover image of Gangsta Bitch Music Vol 1, the rapper’s debut mixtape was displayed to jurors. Cardi is shown sitting at the back of a car, looking at the camera drinking beer while a man with a large tattoo on his back can be seen in between her legs.

Brophy’s lawyer stated that his client’s life had been ‘disrupted’ due to the image and it had also upset his wife, who initially thought it was he who had posed with Cardi for the image.

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Speaking to the court, Brophy said he had once considered his back tattoo, which shows a tiger battling a serpent, to be a “Michelangelo piece” that has since become “raunchy and disgusting”.

“It looks like I’m giving oral sex to somebody that’s not my wife, somebody that’s not my partner, and an image that I never signed off on, ever,” Brophy told the court. “Being a father of two and a devoted husband and a man of faith as well, this goes against everything that I stand for, and I would never ever sign off on something like this.”

Meanwhile, the rapper’s lawyer denied that his client had lifted Brophy’s tattoo image for the cover art and pointed out that model in the image did not have tattoos on his neck whereas Brophy does.

“Brophy’s face wasn’t on the mixtape,” Anderson said during his opening statement. “She was already popular. It has nothing to do with Brophy.”

Brophy though has stated that whoever has seen the image and knows him, believed that it was he who had modeled for the mixtape cover. Defence filings pointed out that the model who posed for the photos was Black, while Brophy is white.

The trial will last for four days and deliberations by the jury will begin on Friday.