Cardi B to Star Alongside Jennifer Lopez in 'Hustlers' Movie
Cardi B is headed to the big screen.
The chart-topping rapper will make her feature film debut alongside Jennifer Lopez in the upcoming stripper saga Hustlers, reports Deadline.
The cast also includes Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians), Lili Reinhart (Riverdale), Keke Palmer (Scream Queens), Julia Stiles (Silver Linings Playbook), and Mercedes Ruehl (The Fisher King).
It’s official. ✨ @constancewu and @iamcardib are joining me in @HustlersMovie – coming soon to theaters! #HustlersMovie pic.twitter.com/2pG5x61Lvu
— Jennifer Lopez (@JLo) March 19, 2019
Inspired by a 2016 New York Magazine article, Hustlers follows a crew of former strip club employees who team up to get revenge on their wealthy Wall Street clients by maxing out their credit cards.
In preparation for her role as a stripper, J.Lo went on a 10-day no-sugar, low-carb diet and has been practicing pole dancing. Alex Rodriguez shared footage from his fiancée’s training sessions on social media.
Cardi B will have her own experience to draw on. The “Bodak Yellow” rapper has been outspoken about her past as an exotic dancer. “I [stripped] for three-and-a-half years,” she told Ellen last year. “I don’t recommend it to everybody because it’s not for everybody, but it made me money. It paid my bills. It got me my own apartment and my boob job…I started getting a lot of money and the money I made, I used it to invest in my dream.”
Additionally, Cardi is set to appear as a judge alongside Chance the Rapper and T.I. on “Rhythm + Flow,” Netflix’s upcoming hip-hop talent competition.
UPDATE: Usher has also joined the cast of Hustlers. The singer will play a high-level client who attends the Scores nightclub. Additionally, British actor Tommy Hatto will star as the love interest to Lili Reinhart’s character, who is unaware of Lili’s strip club career.
“Usher was brought in to provide some star power to the project, and Hatto was cast, after impressing Jennifer when he auditioned for her film The Boy Next Door,” a source close to the production tells Rap-Up.
Principal photography is set to begin March 22.