As soon as the video was released online, backlash ensued, like the hashtag "#SurvivingCardiB" to highlight the similarities between her and accused sexual abuser R. Kelly.
Now, Cardi has addressed the situation in a lengthy Instagram post.
"So I'm seeing on social media that a live I did 3 years ago has popped back up," she wrote. "A live where I talked about things I had to do in my past right or wrong that I felt I needed to do to make a living.
"I never claim to be perfect or come from a perfect world wit a perfect past I always speak my truth I always own my s---," she continued. "Im apart of a hip hop culture where you can talk about where you come from talk about the wrong things you had to do to get where you are.
"There are rappers that glorify murder violence drugs an robbing. Crimes they feel they had to do to survive.
"I never glorified the things I brought up in that live I never even put those things in my music because I'm not proud of it and feel a responsibility not to glorify it."
"I made the choices that I did at the time because I had very limited options. I was blessed to have been able to rise from that but so many women have not.
"Whether or not they were poor choices at the time I did what I had to do to survive."
Cardi also clarified that the men she was referring to were more than just clients.
"The men I spoke about in my live were men that I dated that I was involved with men that were conscious willing and aware." She concluded with, "I have a past that I can't change we all do."
In addition to the post, she captioned it, "All I can do now is be a better me for myself and my family and my future."
