Ooo, the “Empress” is in trouble! Cardi Bopened the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards on Monday with a funny, albeit slightly awkward, moment. The 25-year-old rapper hit the stage, cradling a tiny pink bundle of blankets that fans thought might be her newborn daughter, Kulture. Turns out, it was just a shiny moonman trophy. Don’t be too embarrassed if you were fooled, because Cardi’s husband, Offset, wasn’t in on the joke either. In fact, Cardi revealed that her man was pretty upset by the bit. Shortly after the show ended, the new mom tweeted with crying and laughing emojis: “Why Set said 'I was sooo mad when I saw you on stage with that blanket. I thought you was going to show Kulture.'" Why Set said i was sooo mad, when i saw you on stage with that blanket 😩I thought you was going to show Kulture 😩😩😂😂😂😩 — iamcardib (@iamcardib) August 21, 2018 The cameras cut to Offset, 26, and the rest of his group, Migos, during Cardi’s opening bit, and it’s true, the trio did look a bit unsettled. Thankfully, Cardi didn’t go rogue and debut the couple’s baby to the world. Getty Images That didn’t stop the "I Like It" artist from throwing a bit of perceived shade at fellow rapper, Nicki Minaj. When Cardi declared herself the “Empress” of the evening, many fans thought it might be a dig at Minaj’s new album, Queen. RELATED CONTENT: Jennifer Lopez, Cardi B, Nicki Minaj and More Stars' Must-See Fashion Moments from the VMAs This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors. If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page. 6 Things You Didn’t See at the 2018 MTV VMAs All the Shadiest Moments From the 2018 MTV VMAs -- Cardi B, Nicki Minaj and More VMAs 2018: The Best, Worst and Weirdest Moments Related Gallery<doc-sep>With the MTV Video Music Awards set to take place on Monday at New York's Radio City Music Hall, a new act has been added to the already stacked lineup. Cardi B -- who, along with The Carters, leads the way with 10 nominations -- will serve as the show opener for this year's ceremony. Cardi's decision to hit the stage comes a month after the "Bodak Yellow" MC pulled out of Bruno Mars' 24K Magic World Tour to focus on motherhood. "I thought that after giving birth to my daughter that 6 weeks would be enough time for me to recover mentally and physically," she wrote on Instagram. "I also thought that I'd be able to bring her with me on tour, but I think I underestimated this whole mommy thing. Not only am I just not ready physically, I'm not ready to leave my baby behind since the doctors explained it's not healthy for her to be on the road," she said.<doc-sep>You can always count on three things from the MTV Video Music Awards: revealing outfits, over-the-top performances and a whole lot of petty shade-throwing. Luckily, this year's show was no exception, and in the case of Nicki Minaj, we actually got the trifecta with her skin-baring Off-White dress, her Egyptian-themed performance at The Oculus, and some choice words while accepting her award for Best Hip-Hop. But she wasn't the only one making backhanded references and subtle jabs. Check out our round-up of some of the night's shadiest moments. 1. Cardi B Stirs Up Some Drama Right From the Start This year's MTV VMAs kicked off with a bizarre and utterly confounding appearance from new mom Cardi B, who was pretending to cradle her infant daughter, Kulture, but it turned out to just be an MTV Moon Person award. However, the rapper kicked the night off with what some felt was a jab at Minaj's new album, Queen, when she referred to herself as "the Empress." 2. Tiffany Haddish Takes a Dig at Fifth Harmony Hi @tiffanyhaddish! Just fyi, all @FifthHarmony member is just fine living their own life right now. Go get yours :) pic.twitter.com/gklWlhVlO7 — Donny Andrian🌵 (@donnyAndrian) August 21, 2018 Haddish and Kevin Hart kicked off the show as the night's first presenters, and the actress took the opportunity to serve up a sick burn on the former girl group. "Camila Cabello is nominated for five VMAs tonight," Haddish began. "So for those of you watching at home: Hi, Fifth Harmony!" 3. Nicki Minaj Claps Back in Defense of Normani Kordei When the "Chun-Li" rapper took the stage to accept her VMA from Haddish and Hart, she respectfully clapped back at the comedian for her dig on Fifth Harmony, specifically because of her love and respect for Normani Kordei. Nicki Minaj reminded Tiffany Haddish not to mess with Fifth Harmony because "Normani is that b*tch" https://t.co/3BXfCKU3u0#VMAspic.twitter.com/oCQsxFyB5j — The Cut (@TheCut) August 21, 2018 "Tiff, don't be coming for Fifth Harmony, because Normani is that b----," Minaj said, laughing. The moment was a rallying cry for 5H fans nationwide. 4. Nicki Minaj Promotes Her Own Awards Show (Sort Of) After thanking everybody she could think of during her acceptance speech, Minaj made sure to get cryptic (and vaguely threatening) when she told people to turn into her new radio show on Beats 1 to hear who won a particularly not-at-all coveted honor. "Tune into Queen Radio so you can know who the c---sucker of the day award is going to," Minaj said before stepping off stage. While we're not sure who's even nominated, according to a recent Instagram post from the Queen artist, The Huffington Post is in the running for an article they wrote criticizing some of her recent comments about Harriet Tubman and Spotify. 5. Travis Scott Reminds Us Astroworld is the #1 album (not Queen) Following Minaj's recent Twitter rant taking aim at Scott's new album, Astroworld, as well as his girlfriend, Kylie Jenner, and for some reason their infant daughter, Stormi, fans were already expecting some bad blood. Minaj seemingly lashed out at Scott after his new album held the top spot on the charts for a second week, beating out her Queen album. Nicki Minaj: "I talked to Travis Scott, he knows i have the #1 Album" #VMAs La Flame: pic.twitter.com/oINKOY9KNr — Yung Jules (@iHateYungJules) August 21, 2018 However, they all kept things bottled up for the most part. Though, Scott seemingly got in one subtle blow after his performance when he declared, "Astroworld, no. 1 right now!" It might just seem like some simple bragging, but it's hard to ignore the timing of the remark. For more on this year's MTV Video Music Awards, check out the video below. Maluma On 'Representing' His 'Whole Culture' Performing Latin Song at MTV VMAs (Exclusive) This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors. If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page. RELATED CONTENT: VMAs 2018: The Best, Worst and Weirdest Moments Nicki Minaj Throws Shade, Shows Skin and Stands Up for Normani Kordei at the MTV VMAs Cardi B Slays MTV Video Music Awards in First Red Carpet Appearance Since Giving Birth Related Gallery<doc-sep>She later won best new artist and used her acceptance speech to say: "A couple of months ago a lot of people were saying you're gambling your career, you're about to have a baby, what are you doing? And, you know, I had a baby, I carried a baby, and now I'm still winning awards.<doc-sep>
Cardi B may have fooled the audience -- and her husband -- into thinking she was going to show off her baby girl at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards on Monday, but something tells us baby Kulture's big debut won't happen for a while. The "I Like It" rapper took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a precious photo of herself and Offset gazing down at their newborn daughter in a private room after the awards show, captioning the pic, "KultureK." Cardi and her man are still sporting the looks they wore to the VMAs -- Cardi in a ruffled black minidress and Offset in a gray Louis Vuitton jersey -- while all that's visible of their baby girl appears to be a pink beanie on top of her head. The photo comes just days after the new mom revealed that Offset was "sooo mad" at her for her VMAs fakeout, when she took the stage to open the show with a bundle of blankets that appeared to be carrying baby Kulture. Instead, Cardi whipped out a Moon Person trophy. "Why Set said 'I was sooo mad when I saw you on stage with that blanket. I thought you was going to show Kulture,'" Cardi tweeted alongside several laughing crying emojis. Why Set said i was sooo mad, when i saw you on stage with that blanket 😩I thought you was going to show Kulture 😩😩😂😂😂😩 — iamcardib (@iamcardib) August 21, 2018 Cardi, who gave birth to baby Kulture on July 10, has been outspoken about her desire for privacy when it comes to her and her family. Last month, she revealed she had yet to hire a nanny for her daughter. "I have not gotten a nanny yet," she said on Instagram. "I just want to learn how to be a mom. I want to enjoy every single second of it since I’m going back to work. So I don’t have that extra hand." See more on how Cardi is handling motherhood in the video below. RELATED CONTENT: Offset Got Really Mad at Cardi B at the 2018 MTV VMAs: Here’s Why All the Shadiest Moments From the 2018 MTV VMAs -- Cardi B, Nicki Minaj and More Cardi B Opens MTV Video Music Awards With a Moon Person Baby