CULTURE

Cardi B Has Every Right To Want To Win A Grammy

What do you think awards shows are for?

by Elizabeth Logan

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Listen, America. I know we’re all sick of rehashing the 2016 election, but apparently some of you still haven’t gotten the memo about being okay with ambitious women, so we’re just going to have to go over it again. It’s okay for women to want to win things. The latest victim of our society’s pathological need to cut females down to size is, sadly, Cardi B, who dared express interest in winning the two Grammy Awards for which she is nominated.

When Entertainment Tonight asked the “Bodak Yellow” singer what about the Grammys she was most looking forward to, Cardi answered, “Me, hopefully winning an award. Like what else? Like that’s all I think about to be honest.” She also said she’s rooting for her fiancee Offset’s group Migos.

Both seem like pretty obvious statements–what else are awards shows for if not, you know, winning awards? But according to Hollywood Life, a number of commenters just had to chime in and chastise her for a lack of humility, calling her annoying and selfish.

Now, to these commenters: Why shouldn’t she enjoy her success? Why shouldn’t she want recognition from her industry? Why shouldn’t she want good things for herself and her loved ones? There’s something really messed up, and not a little patronizing, about calling out a young woman of color for answering a question honestly and daring to believe in herself. Not to mention, why would you expect or want humility from the singer of “Bodak Yellow,” a song about, among other things, expensive shoes?

See Cardi’s honest and completely acceptable answer below, and if you don’t have anything nice to comment on it, then you really don’t need to comment anything at all.

Related: Cardi B and Bruno Mars’s “Finesse” Video Is a Kaleidoscope of Throwback Delights