Grammy-winning rapper Cardi B has publicly condemned the 35-year murder sentence handed to Karmelo Anthony, describing it as an attempt to “make an example” of the 19-year-old rather than deliver justice — joining a wave of public figures who have rallied behind Anthony since he stabbed 17-year-old Austin Metcalf to death at a Texas high school track meet in 2025.
“Wow! Just freakin wow! DISGUSTING… This is not justice, this is trying to make an example!!!” Cardi B wrote on X following Tuesday’s sentencing, in which a Texas jury took two and a half hours to decide on the 35-year term after finding Anthony guilty of first-degree murder. She reposted several messages in support of Anthony, including one stating he “deserves better” and another claiming he had “saved someone’s life” and accusing mainstream media of carrying out “character assassination against his image like the dominant society always does.”
Anthony, who was 17 at the time of the killing and is now 19, had attracted significant public sympathy after claiming he acted in self-defence when he stabbed Metcalf once in the chest with a folding knife during a dispute at a district-wide track meet in Frisco, Texas on 2 April 2025. Anthony had no prior criminal history. A GiveSendGo fundraiser launched in his support attracted significant donations, and his mother Kala Hayes previously said: “I don’t know why we are being targeted and discriminated against before a fair trial,” according to NBC DFW.
The case became racially charged almost immediately, with Metcalf being white and Anthony Black. Metcalf had reportedly asked Anthony to leave the Memorial High School tent area, as Anthony attended a rival school. Witnesses testified that Anthony was the aggressor, telling Metcalf “touch me and see what happens” before drawing the knife when Metcalf pushed him. Prosecutors argued successfully that responding to a shove with a fatal stabbing could not constitute self-defence, particularly when Anthony had provoked the confrontation and could have walked away at any point.
Anthony sobbed as the verdict was read. His mother wept in the gallery. The racial dynamics of the case, the composition of the predominantly white jury and the 35-year term have all fuelled a fresh wave of commentary online, with many of Anthony’s supporters arguing the sentence reflects systemic inequality in the American justice system rather than the facts of the case. His defence team raised a “sudden passion” argument that, if accepted by the judge, could reduce the conviction to a second-degree felony and significantly lower the term Anthony ultimately serves.
