this is "nightline." >> tonight, cardi b for balance. the "i like it" rapper. ♪ you so handsome what's his name ♪ >> managing her career, motherhood, and those battles with conservatives. and why she took a knee on a big opportunity. >> under what circumstance would you have performed at the halftime show? plus mystery car fires. parked in garages, bursting into flames, destroying homes, turning lives upside down and families waiting for answers. we confront the man in charge. >> we're trying to just get a comment. during his magical super bowl celebration, tom brady tells us the one thing that makes him cringe. but first the "nightline 5."

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good evening and thank you for joining us. the superstar cardi b gets candid about marriage, motherhood, and sit iing out on a career high to take a stand. here's abc's t.j. holmes. ♪ >> reporter: she's music's "it

girl." cardi b. ♪ i was dancing note ♪ you don't want a girl like me i'm too crazy ♪ >> reporter: featured on maroon 5's hit "girls like you." ♪ who you gonna call >> reporter: the video viewed more than 1 billion times on youtube. ♪ red light red light stop ♪ i don't care when it comes to my heart ♪ ♪ 24 hours i need more hours >> reporter: sunday night when it was time for maroon 5 to serenade a stadium full of fans with the hit -- ♪ girls like you >> reporter: cardi b wasn't there. the rapper refused to perform at this year's super bowl, citing the nfl's treatment of colin kaepernick. >> under what circumstance would you have performed at the halftime show? >> they hired my friend back and understand why was this so important and was such a uproar. >> it means that much to me? >> it means a lot to me because it's like, you know, he's

standing up for minorities. and it's like, if we don't support who's standing up for us, then it's like, who going to support us? i grew up with different ethnicity of minorities. so like i sympathize with everybody, you know. i come from a place where it's like a melting pot. so i see like how minorities struggle. and they need to understand why he stand up for us. it's crazy. >> you don't think he's been accepted, if you will, or his message, at least, has been understood by the league, by the owners? >> no. >> reporter: she might have skipped the halftime show but cardi b performed plenty in atlanta. at least six appearances including the fanatics super bowl party, dancing with new england patriots owner robert kraft. >> if they can make money off of us, why can't i make money off of they stuff? >> you got a lot coming at you, no doubt. how do you make a decision about, i'll be in partnership with that company, not that one?

how do you make those decisions? >> money, that's one. >> reporter: cardi, real name belle almazar, the former stripper from the bronx now a household name. cardi, nominated for five grammys, has quickly become music royalty. ♪ topping the charts with hits like "i like it." ♪ cardi b can't tell me nothing ♪ >> reporter: and "finesse." the star who has almost 5 million twitter and 40 million instagram followers isn't agreed to get blunt. even when it comes to politics. >> trump is now ordering and is sentencing federal government workers to go back to work without getting paid. >> reporter: at times coming head to head with conservatives. just this morning cardi reignited her ongoing twitter feud with conservative darling tomi lahren over a tweet from

lahren where she joked about 21 sava cardi responds, don't make me get my leash. after the twerk video, suggestive content drawing ire from some online. in the era of "me too" how exactly does this empower women? jamila lemieux is a writer and communications strategist. >> i've seen so many videos that are so, you know, rich with booty shaking and girls dancing that it surprises me that people are still up in arms about these things. but i also recognize that cardi is becoming a cross-over star in many ways. you point to her and say, this is a woman who is living her truth, who's made the best of some really interesting career twists and turns, from strip club to reality show to being one of the biggest stars in music. and there are things that can be learned from that. >> reporter: cardi first burst onto the season on reality show

"love and hip-hop" where audiences first caught a glimpse of her larger than life persona. it would be a song "bodac yellow" that would give cardi her first taste of fame. two years later she's married to rapper offset, mother to 6-month-old daughter culture, and focusing on family. >> i did the parties when i was young. >> you are young, what are you talking about? you're still young. >> 20, 21. you know, i'm 26 now. i work almost 24 hours. i'm a mom. >> at 26? >> hey, listen. life changed like that. >> when you have a baby. >> yeah. >> i'm sure you'd like to be with your child right now. how are you balancing that? >> it's a hard period for a mom. i feel like -- you know, some moms have a 9 to 5, after work they go home. most of the times i don't go home. i'm overseas. yes, it is hard. i just think to myself, her future's going to be so secure. oh my gosh. she's going to have a lambeau

when she's 18. but right now i've got to be in my grind. >> reporter: cardi's high-profile marriage has had ups and downs. last year she announced the two were calling it quits. now she says they're trying to work things out. >> i know his story. and i know his goals. and i know why he do it for. it just makes me proud, everything that he's accomplishing. because i know what it means to him. i know his dreams. and he's proud of me too. so i feel we're going to be all right. you know, you got to take it slow. >> how important is that to you, that family unit stays together? >> when i start seeing my parents separated, right, even through like being a single mom, you can always accomplish everything. and a lot of people was telling me like, oh, you could date, you could find another man, blah, blah, blah. and it's like, i can. i could find anybody i want. you don't know nowadays who want you for you. i feel people want me for cardi b. as soon as i said i did a video, i'm not with this guy anymore, i

got all these male celebs in my business, yeah, let's go to dinner. you want to go to dinner with me, cardi b? >> famous dudes talking to you about dates? >> yes. it's like, bro. it's just like, i feel like it's not as easy as people think. find a man, you could do this, you could do that. like, honey. >> god, you're killing me. >> reporter: but for now she's focusing on what's next. and one thing seems certain. cardi's time in the spotlight is just beginning. she promises even bigger things ahead for the new year. >> i want more. i have a vision board. i did one. i never did one before but i did one. >> what's on that board? >> when it happens i'ma hit you and up tell you, remember i told you about that vision board? check. >> reporter: for "nightline" i'm t.j. holmes in atlanta, georgia. >> big thanks to t.j. holmes. coming up next on "nightline," the mysterious parked car fires sparking controversy.

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or a view that defies all expectations. these are the memories that stay with you, long after the moments have passed. now to our nationwide abc news investigation into the cars that are inexplicably catching fire while owners tell us they were parked. here's abc's kyra philips. >> my children survive on schedule. they have a schedule that they are on every single day. >> reporter: max and eli are brothers and both have been diagnosed with autism. their delicate routine thrown into chaos one night in october. >> you know, max was just about getting to sleep. eli was pretty much asleep. >> reporter: their mom laura

says she parked her 2014 bmwx5 in the garage. >> and i hear these really odd really, really loud banging. >> what were you thinking? >> i think i kind of went into shock. grabbed eli. i'm yelling at max, get out of bed, let's go, we have to go! grab him. >> reporter: they ran out the door to see that a fire had started in the garage with a catastrophic boom. >> the explosion blew out that garage door. when neighbors described it, they felt that it was either like fireworks or gunshots. i can hear the fire alarms now just going berserk. >> reporter: laura and her family were able to escape with their lives but little else. their home destroyed. and what came next a surprise. >> immediately when the fire investigators came they were able to pinpoint the bmw. >> reporter: the bmw laura owned for just a few months, which she says was parked and turned off in her garage, had ignited.

>> i bought the car in june of 2017. the fire happened on october 18th, 2017. it wasn't even due for an oil change. >> reporter: laura's case is one of more than 50 reports of bmw car fires that abc news and abc-owned stations have uncovered. we found various models of bm ws and bmw-produced mini coopers, which owners say were parked with engines off, and in one case, even parked for days. >> the car had been parked for at least three or four days, which we thought was a little peculiar. >> reporter: none under fire-related recall at the time of the fire. >> my car is on fire. >> reporter: so what could be causing these parked cars to ignite? it's acarmaker for nearly two years, since our first report in 2017. and we finally had the chance to ask one of bmw's top executives.

more on that in a moment. bill makos' maryland home was destroyed when his parked bmw x5 ignited in his garage. abc first met bill in 2017 while he was rebuilding his home. >> i feel like i'm just tossed aside. you know, it's just a number. not even an apology. so that's the sad part. it was sickening how quickly it spread. >> reporter: bill says he used to be a loyal bmw customer. but he says bmw gave him the cold shoulder. until this letter. so two years after your bmw caught fire, you get a recall. >> yep. >> fire-related recall. >> yep, yep. as a matter of fact, ironically, i think the fire was december 1st, 2015, and the recall notice was december 2017. >> reporter: although parked car fires are unusual, car manufacturers have issued 62 recalls related to such cases

since 2017. just last month hyundai and kia recalled 168,000 vehicles for fire risk. since october 2017, bmw has issued four fire-related recalls. and in that time we've uncovered even more cases. >> i would never buy another bmw after the way they treated me. >> reporter: when lynn wrench received a recall notice in 2017 saying, remedy unavailable, she says she reached out to bmw right away. >> and he said they didn't have a solution yet. and they would notify me when they did. >> reporter: lynn says while she was waiting for the fix from bmw, more than six months after receiving the initial notice, her 2011 bmw caught fire. she says while turned off and parked in wisconsin. bmw offered lynn a $3,000 rebate on a new or preowned bmw, reimbursement for a rental car,

and an additional $1,500. but with a stipulation. >> they wanted me to sign a nondisclosure agreement, so i wouldn't even be able to talk with you about this, or anybody. why would i do that? >> reporter: lynn is not the only bmw owner who has received a recall letter saying "remedy unavailable." abc news heard from one bmw owner who said he received a letter saying, bmw advised parking vehicle outdoors. bmw said it was out of an abundance of caution that it made that recommendation, and that the company worked diligently to secure an adequate supply of parts so that affected vehicles can be fixed as quickly as possible. some bmw owners we spoke to filed a complaint with ntsa, national highway traffic safety administration, the government watchdog for automotive safety. do you believe nhtsa is listening to drivers who are calling and complaining and

holding bmw accountable? >> there's really no evidence that they are. these bm ws had these fire problems for a very long time. they have taken a very long time to respond to them. i think what's particularly scary is there's no watchdog out there that bmw's afraid of. >> reporter: currently there are more than 90 complaints of parked bmw fires filed on nhtsa's database, 30 of which were filed after or original report, and after nhtsa encouraged bmw owners to get in touch with the agency. but as of december, there is no active nhtsa investigation into the fires. >> i think it should be a very high priority for nhtsa. >> reporter: new jersey attorney joseph santoli says he's been repeatedly contacted by bmw owners who say their parked cars caught fire. >> nhtsa needs to bring pressure, as much pressure as they can bring. >> reporter: nhtsa stated it is in close contact with bmw in its oversight of the automaker's

recalls that involve a potential fire risk and will take appropriate action if warranted. bmw representatives have declined repeated requests for interviews but in statements have said with approximately 4.9 million bmw vehicles on u.s. roads, fire incidents involving bmws are very rare and that bmw takes every incident very seriously, adding that car fires can result from a variety of external reasons unrelated to product defects. but we still had more questions. so we went to the los angeles auto show where we found the ceo of bmw north america bernhard kund unveiling bmw's new sports coupe. >> good morning. can you tell us what you're doing about the bmws that have been catching fire while parked?

>> while parked? >> yes. >> okay. you're asking me a question, once again -- sorry, sorry -- >> no i just want -- we've been wanting to have an interview with you. we've brought dozens of cases to bmw about these parked cars catching fire -- >> i would really appreciate -- i'm happy to give yous answers -- do me a favor, come back in a few minutes -- >> we've tried to get an interview with you, we're unable to get an interview with you -- >> i'm happy to. come back any time. >> reporter: but to date, no interview. also waiting for answers, families whose lives were turned upside down. >> i saw the fire. >> do you remember what kind of car it was? >> what kind? >> that got burned? do you remember? >> bmw. >> the bmw got burned? >> the bmw. >> just to start over again, just to have to buy every dish towel, everything that you could

possibly need, is incredibly difficult. to do that while you already have two very, very severely autistic children, it's really hard. >> what's your message to bmw? >> we're not the only family that has lost everything because of a bmw car fire. fix the problem. >> laura olme is considering a lawsuit against bmw. her insurance companies have sued bmw, so the automaker tells abc news it cannot comment on her case. next, the super bowl champs celebrating their victory in disney world. disney world. but does psoriasis ever get in the way? embrace the chance of 100% clear skin with taltz, the first and only treatment of its kind offering people with moderate to severe psoriasis a chance at 100% clear skin. with taltz, up to 90% of people quickly saw a significant improvement of their psoriasis plaques.

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that's tom brady and julian edelman today at disney world. fresh off their super bowl win. tonight brady tells our michael strahan the one thing he doesn't want to hear. >> a lot of people, myself included, call you the goat. you know, goat. greatest of all-tip. >> i don't like that. >> how does that make you feel? >> it makes me cringe. >> really? maybe you shouldn't be so good. >> it's not that -- >> have you thought about that? >> i wish you would say, you're

trash, you're too old, you're too slow, you can't do it anymore, and i would say, thank you, you're wrong. >> driven by criticism more than driven by success? >> yeah, absolutely. >> one way to maintain your edge. see the full interview on gma first thing in the morning here on abc. full "nightline"s available on hul hulu. we want to thank you for watching tonight, and good night. watching tonight, and good night.