Key Takeaways
- Cardi B challenged BZR WKND Jamaica promoter Ryan Burke to sue her over her canceled headlining set, threatening a defamation countersuit: “Take me there.”
- Burke claims he paid her $2.5 million in full, but the rapper says she received roughly $900,000 upfront and returned a late $750,000 production payment because organizers missed the deadline.
- She blamed organizers’ handling of production—not her grandfather’s death—for canceling the October 18 appearance and told Jamaican fans she wants to return with a different promoter.
Cardi B is daring a Jamaican concert promoter to take her to court over her cancelled festival appearance.
The dispute between the rapper and BZR WKND Jamaica organizer Ryan Burke escalated after Burke announced during a Monday (Nov. 9) broadcast on CVM Television that he intends to sue the rapper over her scrapped headlining appearance, as reported by the Jamaica Star.
Cardi was originally scheduled to take the stage at Kingston's National Stadium on October 18, but her team announced on October 8 that she would no longer participate. Addressing fans shortly after, she insisted, "Just know, it wasn't me."
The Am I the Drama? rapper responded to Burke’s comments during an Instagram Live session on Monday night (Nov. 9), accusing Burke of being dishonest about both her compensation and the circumstances surrounding her withdrawal from the festival.
“Let me tell you something, baby. Please, I wish on the brightest star for you to sue me … so I could really get money out of you for real because the way you got me fucked up is insane,” she said near the beginning of the stream.
Cardi claims that she was paid a deposit of roughly $900,000 out of a previously agreed upon $1 million advance, which made up half of her overall fee. She maintained that a subsequent installment dedicated to production costs had an agreed-upon deadline of September 17, which passed without payment. She explained that a $750,000 transfer arrived only after she notified the team that she was pulling out of the festival.
“It would be too late for cargo to send. All the flights are extremely expensive. The hotels are extremely expensive. You only gave me a week and a half because you were supposed to send the production money,” Cardi continued. “You were trying to make me pay the production of the whole entire show. And it's like, why am I paying the production of a whole entire show if this is a festival? … You was trying to use the verbiage, like, ‘Oh no, this is not a festival. This is a Cardi B concert.’ No, this is not a Cardi B concert. This is a festival and I'm headlining. This is two different things.”
With necessary staging gear still grounded in Florida and insufficient runway remaining to secure airfare, lodging, and freight shipments, she stated that she promptly returned the late funds.
Burke presented a conflicting account on CVM, claiming that BZR WKND's legal team is pursuing the recovery of millions of dollars after Cardi's representatives failed to reply to formal repayment demands.
"Cardi B received [US]$2.5 million for her performance, and that money was sent directly to her. She was paid in full," Burke declared, per Jamaica Observer, a claim Cardi denied during her livestream on Monday night.
“It's one thing for you to get online and lie about me, but baby, one [place] you cannot lie is that courtroom,” Cardi said near the seven-and-a-half minute mark in the video linked above. “Take me there because now you're lying on me, which is defamation of character, and I'm going to sue you right the fuck back.”
Cardi also took issue with how the festival characterized her withdrawal. Organizers had publicly extended condolences regarding a family bereavement, but she strongly denied that her grandfather's death played any part in the cancellation.
“The fact that you had the motherfucking audacity … for you to blame the fact that my grandfather died [as] the reason why I canceled, when it was your unprofessionalism, is insane," she said during the livestream.
While expressing frustration with Burke, Cardi emphasized that her grievance was strictly with management rather than her Jamaican supporters.
“To my Jamaican people, if somebody else books me out there, I cannot wait to go out there. I cannot wait to give you a proper amazing show,” Cardi concluded. “But I promise y'all, this was beyond my control. I love y'all.”
