Alleged Assault Victim’s Grandmother Testifies Against Cardi B

The Grandmother’s Testimony

In a quiet courtroom, Diane Schmidt took the witness stand. A retired bank employee from Las Vegas, she stood poised but solemn, ready to speak about someone she loved deeply—her granddaughter, Imani Ellis.

When asked, Diane confirmed her full name, spelled it clearly for the record, and took her seat. She had spent over a decade working for City National Bank in Los Angeles before retiring. But today, she wasn’t here as a banker—she was here as a grandmother.

Imani, Diane explained, had always been a constant presence in her life. Since the day she came home from the hospital in 1992, Diane had helped care for her. She remembered every detail: Imani was the eldest of five siblings, a natural peacemaker who often tried to keep harmony in the family. According to Diane, she had never known Imani to be in any fights; instead, she was someone who tried to defuse conflict.

Over the last eight years, Diane said, Imani had visited her almost every month—unless work or other obligations pulled her away. But something had changed in 2018.

The change came, Diane recalled, after an incident that happened shortly after her own birthday—February 16th. When told the date of the incident was February 24th, 2018, Diane nodded. That was right.

On that day, Imani called her grandmother shortly after the event, crying and humiliated. According to Diane, Imani said she had been assaulted—an emotional and deeply upsetting experience that seemed to leave a lasting mark. Over the phone, Diane could hear her granddaughter’s distress.

The physical evidence of the incident became clear to Diane shortly after. She noticed a scar on Imani’s cheek—something that hadn’t been there before. She confirmed that from the time Imani was a baby up until 2018, she had never seen any marks on her granddaughter’s face. But after that day, the scar was visible.

As Imani later underwent plastic surgery to repair the damage, Diane said the surgeon had done a good job—though the scar still remained slightly noticeable. She noted how much Imani cared about her appearance and how upsetting it was for her to feel that something had been taken from her—not just physically, but emotionally.

During cross-examination, the defense attorney acknowledged Diane’s love for her granddaughter. He pointed out that as a grandmother, Diane didn’t need evidence to believe her—she trusted Imani. When asked about whether she knew Imani had been fired after the incident, Diane said she understood her granddaughter had been told she would be let go.

The defense also asked Diane if she knew about Imani’s apology to the security company. Diane replied that Imani was the type of person who would apologize to clear the air and restore order, not necessarily because she had done anything wrong. She added that she never discussed the specifics of that apology with Imani.

When asked about the location of the scar, Diane confirmed she saw it on Imani’s cheek—but not on her nose. The defense pointed out that Imani had previously described being scratched on the nose in a report. Diane replied that the attacker’s finger was “all over her face,” so it could have made contact in several places.

The jury submitted questions of their own. Diane confirmed again that Imani had called her immediately after the incident on February 24th, 2018. She didn’t recall the exact time, but said the call came very soon after. When asked if Imani told her that she had been cut by Cardi B during that phone call, the court didn’t allow her to elaborate due to procedural objections.

In the final moments, Diane was asked to recall her phone number from that time, but she admitted she couldn’t remember the full number—only the area code. “It took me a long time to remember my new one,” she smiled gently.

With her testimony complete, Diane was excused. She stepped down from the witness stand, having painted a picture of a close and loving relationship—a grandmother who had seen her granddaughter joyful, confident, and unscarred. And who now, after February 24th, 2018, had seen her changed.