Singer and rapper Cardi B, whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, announced that she is pregnant with her second child at the BET Awards on Sunday.
During a performance at the televised show, Cardi B wore an outfit that revealed her stomach while she danced on stage.
As reported by People, she “revealed the news while performing with her husband Offset and his group Migos on Sunday evening at the BET Awards. After the trio finished ‘Straightenin,’ Cardi joined the group for ‘Type S—.’ Appearing on stage in an embroidered Dolce & Gabbana bodysuit, a sheer panel in the abdomen exposed Cardi’s burgeoning belly.”
Stylist Kollin Carter posted an up-close video of the outfit on Instagram that showed the gemstone-laden leotard with a hole cut out of the middle.
Conservative commentator and co-host of “The View,” Meghan McCain, tweeted a congratulatory message to the singer, noting how she used videos of the rapper’s performances to give her inspiration during her own pregnancy.
“I watched videos of her performing at Coachella pregnant for inspiration when I was pregnant,” McCain tweeted. “Congratulations to her family. She does motherhood and career balance so well.”
As The Daily Wire reported when Cardi B announced her first pregnancy in 2018, the rapper made comments at the time that some have pointed to as including an inherently pro-life message.
As The Daily Wire reported:
The “Bodak Yellow” singer joyfully announced the news of her pregnancy on “Saturday Night Live” [in 2018]. Discussing the news with the co-hosts, Cardi B revealed that she briefly considered an abortion, seemingly due to outside pressures since she is at the height of her career, before deciding she “didn’t want to deal with the whole abortion thing.”
“I just didn’t want to,” she revealed.
“The regret of it, probably?” asked host Charlemagne Tha God in response.
“Yeah,” she said. “I just didn’t want to. It was just like, ‘You know what, I’m a grown woman. I’m 25 years old. … You know what I’m saying? I’m prepared for this.’”
Cardi B elaborated on such outside pressures, particularly from women (likely “feminists”) who have mocked her for keeping her child.
“It really bothers me and it disgusts me. … I see a lot of women like, ‘Oh, I feel bad for her. Why is she doing that in the height of her career?’” the rapper explained. “And it’s just like, why can’t I have both? Why do I have to choose a baby or a career? Like, a family or a career? Why can’t I have both? Why do I have to be in my mid-30s to have a baby?”
“I’m getting married,” she added. “And God forbid we don’t [get married], my man is a great father to his kids.”
Some members of the media pointed to the singer’s comments and instead said that they were inherently “pro-choice” because Cardi B had chosen to go through with the pregnancy because she was ready to have a child.
In a 2015 interview, Cardi B was asked if she’d had an abortion, and while she avoided directly answering at first, she quietly conceded that she had not had more than two.