Cardi B sparks debate over her reaction during trial where she's being sued for $24 million

A video of Cardi B during the closing arguments of her $24 million (£18m) civil assault trial has gone viral online - and people have been left divided.

For those who aren't up to speed with what's going on, on Tuesday (2 September) the 32-year-old American rapper was cleared of assault by a Los Angeles jury after a security guard sued her.

Emani Ellis claimed that the musician cut her cheek with a three-inch (7.5cm) fingernail and spat on her outside an obstetrician's office in 2018.

At the time, Cardi, real name Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar, was pregnant with her first of three children with her ex, rapper Offset, however, this was not public knowledge at that point.

The civil trial took place in Alhambra, California, US, but the jury only deliberated for about an hour before finding the star not liable.

Taking to the stand, Cardi told the court that Ellis had followed her and filmed her on her phone, as well as telling someone on the phone about her secret appointment for a pregnancy that she was yet to announce.

The rapper recalled how the two got into a heated argument, but maintained that she never touched or spat on her.

And as expected with any high profile court case, a number of clips and photos have been circulating as Cardi changed wigs and outfits for every different day of the trial.

But one moment in particular that's split opinion is a clip that appears to show Cardi falling asleep during the trial's closing arguments.

In the video, shared to X, she seems to be nodding off and struggling to keep her eyes open - and some people have branded it as 'disrespectful'.

One social media user wrote: "If you’re nodding off in court with $20M on the line, maybe you don’t take your freedom seriously enough."

A second agreed: "Don’t matter how boring the trial is. You’re in a courtroom show some respect."

While someone else brutally chimed in with: "She knew where she was at and she knew to prepare herself prior to getting there right? There’s really no excuse to her behaviour in the video.

"Drink some coffee or take a Red Bull before hand if you know you’re going to be in court for a few hours or so. No excuses."

Meanwhile, other social media users defended the star, with one adding: "That says a lot about how draining the whole process must be."

Another penned: "Probably because the case is as weak as the arguments."

And a third added: "We all will fall asleep to these kind of long talk, I personally can relate there have been times I try so hard not to fall a sleep on church or many events where a person talks a lot. BUT she still looks hilarious."

A final user penned: "She's human. Keeping her one place like that. What did they expect."