Cardi B refuses to stop bringing up her past as a stripper

If there’s one thing to love about Cardi B (aside from her music, of course), it’s how open and unapologetically honest she is about who she is. When it comes to her past, Cardi B makes no secret of the fact that she used to be a stripper, despite people telling her to stop talking about this part of her past. In a new interview with Cosmopolitan, Cardi B gets real about why.

"People say, ‘Why do you always got to say that you used to be a stripper? We get it,’" she told the magazine. Her answer: "Because y’all don’t respect me because of it, and y’all going to respect these strippers from now on." She even adds, "Just because somebody was a stripper don’t mean they don’t have no brain.

Basically, she’ll keep talking about her past as an exotic dancer because she firmly believes they, like everyone else, deserve your respect. There’s so much truth to that. Even today, there’s a ton of stigma associated with being a stripper. But in reality, it’s a valid life choice, and it’s not easy. In fact, it takes a lot of hard work, and that’s something Cardi B has no issue talking about.

Cardi B started stripping when she was 19 years old, and according to Time, she did it long enough to become financially independent. When asked if she’d ever tell a young woman to get into stripping, she candidly told Vibe, “I would tell her straight up, ‘You could be. You gonna make money. But you gonna spend a lot of it, too.’”Although she doesn’t necessarily feel like anyone should follow what she did, it’s all about having a goal.

"In every field, whether it’s dancing or something else, you gotta work hard for it," she said.

That’s too true. We shouldn’t judge people for their life choices. Besides, you shouldn’t be ashamed about the things you’ve done in the past to survive. Nobody knows that better than Cardi B.