Cardi B Apologizes to Jamaica’s Government — and the Promoter Fires Back: “False Claims”
Cardi B has said sorry to the Government of Jamaica — and BZR WKND answered a day later, calling her claims false and insisting, again, that she was paid every dollar. The fight over the canceled October 18 Cardi B & Friends show at the National Stadium in Kingston now has three sides: the rapper, the promoter, and a government that says it never promised anybody a cent.
Where this left off. BZR WKND founder and CEO Ryan Burke went on Jamaican television saying Cardi received her full performance fee — $2.5 million, sent directly to her — and that his company has hired lawyers and plans to sue over the cancellation. Cardi answered on Instagram Live on Monday night: the deposit that actually landed in her account was $900,000, the production money due September 17 never arrived, and a late $750,000 — sent after she had already pulled out — went right back. “You never sent me 2.5,” she said, vowing to countersue. In that same live, she also claimed the Jamaican government had been willing to pay the rest of what she says she was owed to save the show. That claim is what set the last two days off. (Catch up on part one here: https://www.itsbizkit.com/cardi-b-vows-to-countersue-jamaica-promoter-ryan-burke-you-never-sent-me-2-5/)
The government answers. On Tuesday, November 10, Jamaica’s Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport — the ministry run by Culture Minister Olivia Grange — put it in writing: “NO GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE REGARDING FEES WAS COMMITTED TO PROPOSED CONCERT FEATURING CARDI B.” The ministry’s letter describes the concert as a private commercial engagement the government had no part in, and says public money is being pointed at recovery and reconstruction after Hurricane Melissa, under a directive from Prime Minister Andrew Holness to pull spending back from events. Translation: nobody in the Jamaican government promised Cardi B a dollar.
Cardi says sorry — and points at Burke. After the ministry’s statement, Cardi went on Instagram Live again and apologized directly to the Government of Jamaica. Her position now: the government’s name got dragged into this because, she says, Burke put it there. She told viewers her team received text messages and an email from Burke saying the government had invested in the festival, and that is where her claim came from. She challenged Burke to “call my bluff” within two hours and threatened to post the email and the texts publicly for everybody to read. Jamaican outlets recapping the live reported she also made clear the deposit she did receive is not going back. As of this writing, the emails have not been posted.
Her agent backs her up. Cardi’s agent, Mike Guirguis of United Talent Agency, has also gone public against the promoter’s version. “Any claim that she was paid in full is false,” Guirguis said, as quoted by ONE876 Entertainment. Baller Alert reports Guirguis is insisting Cardi never received her full performance fee and that organizers failed to fulfill multiple obligations under their agreement.
The promoter fires back. On Wednesday, November 11, BZR WKND released an official statement titled “CARDI B’S FALSE CLAIMS ON PROMISED JAMAICAN GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR PERFORMANCE FEE.” The organizers stated that BZR Weekend “did not receive any financial assistance or funding from the government of Jamaica or the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, nor was any such funding ever promised or agreed upon, contrary to the false claims made by Cardi B.” They say the weekend was independently organized and funded, and that the “full payment to Cardi B made directly and covered entirely through independent funding” — the same paid-in-full claim Burke made on television. The statement urges the public to refrain from drawing conclusions and to allow “the appropriate legal process to take its course,” and says no further statements will be made at this time.
Where it stands. Burke has said the December 20 event moves forward, and organizers have acknowledged a heavy volume of refund requests from fans who bought tickets to the original date. What has not changed since part one: every dollar figure in this fight is still one side’s claim, and no lawsuit filing from either camp has been confirmed.
The government says it never offered a cent. Her agent says paid-in-full is a lie. The promoter is still saying $2.5 million. Should Cardi just post the emails and end this — yes or no?
Sources: BZR WKND’s official statement (Nov. 11, 2026), quoted by Baller Alert; Jamaica’s Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport statement dated Nov. 10, 2026, as reported by YardHype and circulated by IRIE FM and The Tropixs; Cardi B’s Instagram Live apology as reported by the Jamaica Observer and Nationwide 90FM (Nov. 11, 2026); Mike Guirguis’s comment as reported by ONE876 Entertainment and Baller Alert (Nov. 11, 2026). Every payment figure above is one side’s claim — no lawsuit filing has been confirmed by either camp.
