Cardi B claps back at criticism over trademarking "Okurrr"
25 March 2019, 15:32
She's now decided to come off of Twitter for a few days.
Cardi B has always been about her money and now she's about to turn her catchphrase "Okurrr" into cash. The "Please Me" rapper's company Washpoppin Inc. filed an application to trademark "Okurrr" – with three r's – earlier this month.
Basically, Cardi would like to slap "Okurrr" on merchandise like t-shirts, hoodies and "paper goods" – and make some serious money for it.
However, people are pissed because Cardi didn't actually make up the word "Okurrr", which she described as sounding like "a cold pigeon in New York City" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
It's believed "Okurrr" – which is basically another word for okay – actually comes from the drag scene, and it has been used regularly by queens on RuPaul's Drag Race. Broadway star Laura Bell Bundy also claims to have invented the word 10 years ago for a YouTube comedy skit.
Meanwhile, Khloe Kardashian was often heard dishing out the phrase on Keeping Up With The Kardashians, even lending the name to a shade of lipstick in collaboration with her sister Kylie Jenner for Kylie Cosmetics.
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Members of the LGBTQ+ community starting dragging Cardi and accusing her of profiting off of their culture.
“ Okurrr” came from the drag community by the black men who emulated their black mothers.
— Jodylove (@gigiflacko) March 21, 2019
When black women say a lot of what we have / do/ say is copied & then mass produced for profit
Cute Cardi B............Cute#CardiB #okurr
Not trademarking something she STOLE
— violt✨ (@violts) March 22, 2019
Regardless of the Nicki vs Cardi beef, she did borrow this sound from the LGBT community which a lot of straight people do. She shouldn’t be able to trademark something WE started.
— Dream Team 🦄☁️🎸 (@nickiawna) March 22, 2019
Cardi B wants to catchphrase “okurr” :/ bitch didn’t create that. Drag queens BEEN saying that before we knew who Cardi was. Girl bye
— Bolutife (@Bolzieboo) March 22, 2019
Cardi B i love you but you cannot trademark "okurr" because it belongs to the gay community
— Harlo🥀 (@aquarialegend) March 22, 2019
Girl no. I fucking stan @iamcardib but she does NOT have the right to trademark that. Okurr was born in the drag community !!!!!
— Sofia Monica Erlien-Cerullo (@SOFA119) March 22, 2019
@RuPaul, how you gone let @iamcardib trademark a word you been saying for 11 seasons/years...The gays can’t have shit 🤬🤬🤬 pic.twitter.com/NEhjS8eDRA
— King Trey (@AintShitTweet) March 21, 2019
"Okurrr," came from the New York Underground Ball Culture back in the 1980's. It has and never will be Cardi B's (despite this trademark).
— Janron Joshua (@janronjoshua) March 23, 2019
But here we are now, letting queer nuances be appropriated-, stolen by the larger heterosexual sector. https://t.co/ldgGMh915n
Later, Cardi went off in a video an Instagram video. She said: "You hoes mad because I trademarked Okurrr? Let me tell you something, every time I go to a corporate meeting these folks be like, 'OMG can we please hear you say okurrr?'
"Everytime I go to a TV show, 'Hey, hey, hey, hey can you teach us how to say okurrr?' Hey, hey, hey every commercial: 'Can you finish it off with Okurrr?' Do you think I ain't going to profit off this shit?
"Bitch, white folks do it all the motherfucking time so you wanna be mad at me because I want to make some money? Huh, let me tell you something, while I'm still here I'm going to secure all the fucking bags.
"And let me give you a secret too, it's 2019, there's a lot of ways to get rich. You better get yourselves some business. Stop minding motherfucking others… I'mma get this motherfucking bag whilst I'm here hoe."
