Lady Gaga has jumped to the defence of Cardi B, after the rapper was driven off Instagram over online abuse she received in the wake of her first Grammys win on Sunday night.
The pair met for the first time after the ceremony, having previously expressed their admiration for one another on social media, with Gaga posting a statement in support of Cardi, after many online critics suggested her Best Rap Album victory was undeserved, prompting her to delete her Instagram account.
“It is so hard to be a woman in this industry,” Gaga wrote on Twitter. “What it takes, how hard we work through the disrespectful challenges, just to make art.
“I love you Cardi. You deserve your awards. Let’s celebrate her fight. Lift her up & honor her. She is brave.”
Shortly before removing her account, Cardi told her detractors in an Instagram video: “I’m so sick of this shit. I worked hard for my motherfucking album.
“I locked myself in the studio for three months, my n****. Didn’t went to sleep in my own bed sometimes for four days straight! Pregnant!”
Cardi went on to point out that several songs had to be cut from her album, as her pregnancy had affected her voice so much.
During this year’s Grammys, Cardi was inarguably one of the stand-out performers, delivering a twerk-heavy rendition of her hit Money.
Immediately after Cardi’s Best Rap Album victory, fellow winner Ariana Grande was forced to clarify comments she made on Twitter, insisting she was not upset about the Bodak Yellow rapper taking home the Grammy, but rather that organisers had flown out her late ex-boyfriend Mac Miller’s family only for them not to give him the posthumous award.