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Cardi B has responded to recent rumors that she underwent plastic surgery after giving birth to her third baby in September.
The 31-year-old welcomed her second daughter with her estranged partner, Offset, on September 7, writing a sweet post on Instagram to commemorate the occasion. “The prettiest lil thing,” she wrote.
Shortly after she gave birth, Cardi B – whose real name is Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar – was back in the gym, sharing videos of herself doing 30 minutes of cardio on the Stairmaster. Internet sleuths were quick to criticize the rapper, arguing that she shouldn’t be exercising so soon after giving birth. What’s more, social media users were also convinced that Cardi B had undergone cosmetic procedures to alter her natural figure.
On October 5, the “Up” artist took to X (formerly Twitter) to hit back at haters who accused her of getting plastic surgery. She posted two side-by-side full-length pictures to prove her body looked the same as it did before the speculation began.
“Y’all really need to relax… This is how my body REALLY LOOKS LIKE,” she wrote. “My body looks exaggerated in the other video cause I have a 5X faja on… I want y’all to think wit y’all brain.
“Y’all was just praising my body couple days ago… do y’all think I went and got surgery in two days?” she continued.
One fan defended Cardi B, confirming she couldn’t have gotten plastic surgery so soon after giving birth. “You can’t get surgery unless the child you had six months and up anyway,” they wrote.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, an individual will typically have to wait at least six months after delivery to undergo any cosmetic procedures.
“This will give your abdominal tissue a chance to heal fully before you have a tummy tuck,” the ASPS states.
This is the second time Cardi B has responded to accusations made against her in the few weeks since she welcomed her third child. In the wake of criticisms about her workout regimen, the “Drip” creator assured her fans that it was safe for her to be exercising at the time.
“This is my third baby and postpartum is a little different from my first two,” she said, in response to an X user who thought Cardi B was influenced to get back in the gym due to the societal pressure on women.
“I’m not doing [heavy] lifting, no muscle straining, squatting none of that… just cardio. Sometimes to avoid postpartum depression you gotta keep your mind busy and for me that’s work and staying active,” she continued.
“I just was never the type to care about snap back after birth. I don’t know what it is about this time around but I have this burst of energy where I want to do EVERYTHING… It’s like I want to complete all my goals in one day.”