At the age of 19, Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar became a stripper to escape poverty and an abusive relationship. Seven years later, she's Grammy-winning platinum-selling rapper Cardi B, a spokeswoman for Pepsi and a hilarious guest on talk shows. However, in a recently surfaced video, the rap star makes a startling confession that fans did not find "okurrr."

The clip is taken from an undated live chat, where Cardi goes on a tearful tirade against her critics and says she deserves her success. During the rant, she admits that back in the day, she used to drug men and rob them. "I had to go strip, I had to go, ‘Oh yeah, you want to f*ck me? Yeah yeah yeah, let’s go back to this hotel,’ and I drugged n****s up and I robbed them," said Cardi. "That’s what I used to do.”

The Bronx MC's brash confession to criminal behavior sparked a backlash on social media. Some people pointed out a double standard in terms of gender; if a male celebrity bragged about drugging and robbing women, he would likely be in a lot of trouble. In fact, rapper Rick Ross lost a lucrative Reebok endorsement deal in 2013 just for rapping about slipping a molly into a woman's drink.

On Twitter, the hashtag #SurvivingCardiB started trending, a reference to the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, which has ignited a long-overdue reckoning for the R&B singer, after allegations of sexual abuse swirled for decades. Some Twitter users went so far as to accuse Cardi of rape, although she solely admitted to drugging and robbing. Others found the R. Kelly comparison to be unfair, considering he has been charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse.

Initially, an unfazed Cardi B waved off the "cancellation" by posting a lighthearted meme on Twitter. However, as the controversy grew - and, presumably, her public relations team got her on the phone - the Bodak Yellow rapper posted a lengthy response. Here is her full statement:

"So I’m seeing on social media that a live I did 3 years ago has popped back up. A live [chat] where I talked about things I had to do in my past right or wrong that I felt I needed to do to make a living. I never claim to be perfect or come from a perfect world wit a perect past I always speak my truth I always own my sh*t.

"Im a part of a hip hop culture where you can talk about where you come from talk about the wrong things you had to do to get where you are. There are rappers that glorify murder violence drugs an robbing. Crimes they feel they had to do to survive. I never glorified the things I brought up in that live I never even put those things in my music because I’m not proud of it and feel a responsibility not to glorify it.

"I made the choices I did at the time because I had very limited options. I was blessed to have been able to rise from that but so many women have not. Whether or not they were poor choices at the time I did what I had to do to survive. The men I spoke about in my live were men that I dated that I was involve with men that were conscious willing and aware. I have a past that we can’t change we all do."

At the age of 19, Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar became a stripper to escape poverty and an abusive relationship. Seven years later, she's Grammy-winning platinum-selling rapper Cardi B, a spokeswoman for Pepsi and a hilarious guest on talk shows. However, in a recently surfaced video, the rap star makes a startling confession that fans did not find "okurrr."

The clip is taken from an undated live chat, where Cardi goes on a tearful tirade against her critics and says she deserves her success. During the rant, she admits that back in the day, she used to drug men and rob them. "I had to go strip, I had to go, ‘Oh yeah, you want to f*ck me? Yeah yeah yeah, let’s go back to this hotel,’ and I drugged n****s up and I robbed them," said Cardi. "That’s what I used to do.”

The Bronx MC's brash confession to criminal behavior sparked a backlash on social media. Some people pointed out a double standard in terms of gender; if a male celebrity bragged about drugging and robbing women, he would likely be in a lot of trouble. In fact, rapper Rick Ross lost a lucrative Reebok endorsement deal in 2013 just for rapping about slipping a molly into a woman's drink.

On Twitter, the hashtag #SurvivingCardiB started trending, a reference to the Lifetime documentary Surviving R. Kelly, which has ignited a long-overdue reckoning for the R&B singer, after allegations of sexual abuse swirled for decades. Some Twitter users went so far as to accuse Cardi of rape, although she solely admitted to drugging and robbing. Others found the R. Kelly comparison to be unfair, considering he has been charged with 10 counts of sexual abuse.

Initially, an unfazed Cardi B waved off the "cancellation" by posting a lighthearted meme on Twitter. However, as the controversy grew - and, presumably, her public relations team got her on the phone - the Bodak Yellow rapper posted a lengthy response. Here is her full statement:

"So I’m seeing on social media that a live I did 3 years ago has popped back up. A live [chat] where I talked about things I had to do in my past right or wrong that I felt I needed to do to make a living. I never claim to be perfect or come from a perfect world wit a perect past I always speak my truth I always own my sh*t.

"Im a part of a hip hop culture where you can talk about where you come from talk about the wrong things you had to do to get where you are. There are rappers that glorify murder violence drugs an robbing. Crimes they feel they had to do to survive. I never glorified the things I brought up in that live I never even put those things in my music because I’m not proud of it and feel a responsibility not to glorify it.

"I made the choices I did at the time because I had very limited options. I was blessed to have been able to rise from that but so many women have not. Whether or not they were poor choices at the time I did what I had to do to survive. The men I spoke about in my live were men that I dated that I was involve with men that were conscious willing and aware. I have a past that we can’t change we all do."