The ongoing global pandemic has upended everything, causing disruptions in every aspect of our lives for the past 11 months and forcing a complete re-imagination of how we live and work. That includes a raft of new and unexpected costs piling up by the day for artists who are lucky enough to be working at a time when millions of Americans are stuck at home.
Take Cardi B. The “WAP” rapper revealed on Tuesday (Jan. 26) that she’s spending a ton of money every week repeatedly getting tested for COVID, as well as administering multiple tests to her whole team. “I get Covid tested bout 4 times a week. My glam and management gotta get tested as well,” she tweeted. “Everytime we get tested is about 250$ each.This is seriously a new business.”
When a fan said they thought the tests were free, Cardi explained that it’s free when you go to your doctor’s office, but “when it’s for work and you gotta have people test you at your home is not.” That said, Cardi wasn’t complaining about the cost because she knows the legal and health ramifications if she doesn’t do everything she can to keep herself and her team safe.
Cardi had previously revealed that she and Megan Thee Stallion spent $100,000 on COVID-19 tests while filming the “WAP” video. According to Uproxx’s math on how much Cardi is laying out weekly at the moment on tests, it’s $1,000 a day and $7,000 a week for herself and her whole team.
“It’s necessary because if you in my space and you get Covid I can get sued. If I do a commercial and I get Covid the company can get sued,” she said. “Its all about not being a liability and is a requirement.The government should be paying for healthcare workers we pay out our own pockets.” When another user noted that Cardi is lucky that she has the luxury of getting private testing considering what she and her fellow front-line health care workers are enduring — “I’m a nurse working on a covid floor. You know how many times they test us? Or ASK if we should go get tested? 0%,” they wrote — Cardi clarified why she brought the topic up.
“Well this tweet is not about complaining is about CAPITALISM!” she wrote. “How Covid is becoming a business and if this was part of the plan .How ya getting mad at me because it’s a requirement to get tested ?Just to shoot a commercial even the janitors must get tested twice.”
Check out Cardi’s tweets below.
I get Covid tested bout 4 times a week. My glam and management gotta get tested as well. Everytime we get tested is about 250$ each.This is seriously a new business 🤦🏽♀️
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) January 26, 2021
It’s free when you go to the doctors and shit but when it’s for work and you gotta have people test you at your home is not . https://t.co/8QOzW9th6u
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) January 26, 2021
Well this tweet is not about complaining is about CAPITALISM!How Covid is becoming a business and if this was part of the plan🧐 .How ya getting mad at me because it’s a requirement to get tested ?Just to shoot a commercial even the janitors must get tested twice https://t.co/nUfS7WrQiF
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) January 26, 2021
