Cardi B has publicly challenged BZR WKND Jamaica promoter Ryan Burke to sue her as their dispute over a canceled festival performance escalates. Burke claims the rapper received her full $2.5 million appearance fee, an allegation she and her representatives strongly deny. Both sides have threatened legal action over alleged contractual failures, while Jamaica’s government has issued a separate denial of any financial involvement in the event. No court filing has yet been independently confirmed.
Cardi B is openly inviting a legal confrontation with Ryan Burke, the promoter behind BZR WKND Jamaica, following the cancellation of her planned headline appearance. During an Instagram livestream, the rapper responded to Burke’s threat of a lawsuit by insisting that she would welcome the opportunity to challenge his account in court.
The confrontation intensified between November 9 and 11, when Burke and the artist’s representatives issued sharply conflicting statements about how much she had been paid and why she withdrew from the festival. Their disagreement involves a reported $2.5 million performance fee, advance payments and the costs associated with mounting the show.
Burke told Jamaican television that the agreed fee had been paid in full. He claimed the money went directly to the rapper and that organizers subsequently sought repayment when her performance was canceled and she did not participate in the rescheduled event.
The Cardi B camp rejected that characterization. In a statement from her representative, the artist’s team alleged that organizers failed to meet their contractual payment obligations, resulting in a material breach of the agreement. According to that account, withdrawing from the event was a consequence of the promoter’s failures rather than an unjustified decision by the performer.
The rapper then offered her own breakdown of the disputed payments. She said she received approximately $900,000 toward a previously agreed $1 million advance, which represented half of her overall performance fee under the arrangement described by her team.
She also alleged that a separate payment intended to cover production costs was due by September 17. According to her account, that deadline passed without the agreed funds arriving, creating problems for the equipment, transport and other preparations required for the performance.
The situation became more difficult, she said, when a $750,000 transfer eventually arrived after her team had already notified organizers of the withdrawal. She maintains that the money was returned because it was too late to arrange freight shipments, flights and accommodation for the production.
Another point of disagreement concerns who was responsible for paying for the event’s overall production. Cardi B argued that she had agreed to headline a festival, not independently finance an entire concert operation. She accused the promoter of attempting to redefine the booking in a way that shifted those expenses onto her.
These accounts have not been reconciled through independently verified financial records. The complete contract, payment documentation and relevant transaction histories have not been publicly established in a form that would allow a definitive conclusion about the disputed amounts.
BZR WKND representatives have presented their own contractual allegations. They claim the artist failed to provide promotional support that had been agreed upon after the initial deposit, including an official announcement video intended to help market her festival appearance.
The organizers maintain that they fulfilled their financial obligations and say they intend to pursue legal action to protect the reputation and commercial interests of the event. However, an intention to file a lawsuit is not the same as confirmation that proceedings have already begun, and no specific court filing has been independently established.
For her part, Cardi B has made clear that she would defend her position if the dispute reaches a courtroom. She has also threatened a countersuit for defamation, arguing that Burke’s public accusations have misrepresented the circumstances of the cancellation.
Her agent, Mike Guirguis of United Talent Agency, reinforced that position in a public statement on X. He insisted that the performer never received her complete fee and accused the promoter of failing to satisfy multiple commitments under the agreement.
The disagreement has also drawn an official response from Jamaica’s government. Earlier comments from the rapper suggested that public funds might have been considered to cover outstanding costs related to the planned performance.
On November 10, Jamaica’s Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport denied making any financial commitment or payment toward the artist’s appearance. It described the proposed concert as a private commercial engagement in which the government had no involvement.
The rapper subsequently apologized to the government for her comments. She alleged that information about possible state involvement had come from correspondence between Burke and her representatives, including an email that she said referred to government investment in the festival.
That allegation about the communication remains unverified. The ministry’s position is clear regarding its own involvement, but it does not independently establish what was communicated between the promoter and the artist’s team.
The original performance had been scheduled for October 18 at Kingston’s National Stadium. Her withdrawal was announced on October 8, before the festival’s initial four-day schedule was later revised to a two-day event planned for December 19 and 20.
Cardi B is no longer part of that lineup. The promoter has said organizers are continuing preparations for the revised event, while the artist has expressed a desire to return to Jamaica under a different professional arrangement in the future.
She has also stressed that her criticism concerns the people responsible for organizing the festival rather than her Jamaican audience. Her comments leave open the possibility of another concert in the country, although no new appearance has been announced.
The immediate dispute remains unresolved. Burke’s legal threat and the rapper’s proposed countersuit are public positions, not independently confirmed court proceedings. Any subsequent filing, if made, would bring the competing contractual claims and disputed payments into a formal legal process.
