Summary
- Mariah Carey and Madonna have a long-standing feud, which was sparked by Madonna's negative comments about Mariah's talent and popularity.
- Despite the tension, Mariah handled the feud with grace and maturity, refusing to engage in mudslinging and focusing on the personal insecurities that may have fueled Madonna's remarks.
- Mariah is not one to back down when faced with rude remarks, as seen in her disputes with Eminem, Sandra Bernhard, and Nicki Minaj. She is always ready to defend herself and demand respect.
Mariah Carey and Madonna have always had a complicated relationship. Without a doubt, Madonna and Mariah had massive talent and became superstars in their own right. Madonna had already made a name for herself with numerous popular songs topping the charts and having great popularity on streaming platforms, including Spotify.
The two pop divas haven't always gotten along so well and showed their spite for each other on camera. While the Queen of Pop is no stranger to being a master of shade, Mariah didn’t let her off easily. Mariah responded by throwing a classy jab that fans are still thrilled by, years later.
Mariah Carey And Madonna Have Never Gotten Along
Madonna was already an icon before Mariah came along in the early '90s. Madonna owned the Queen of Pop title until Mariah’s debut hit, "Vision Of Love." It was evident that America now had a new queen in the music industry. A nasty feud between the two iconic stars quickly surfaced.
Fans speculate that the Mariah-Madonna feud may have been ignited after Madonna’s interview with Spin Magazine.
She allegedly said, “I was talking to k.d. lang about it last night. I don’t want to get into slagging off other artists, but we were talking about her record versus someone like Mariah Carey’s — and I think she’s a very talented singer — but we have to realize that the same country that acquitted O.J. is the same country that makes a complete piece of s*** movie No.1, that buys Mariah Carey records. It’s this homogeneity. But it’s got nothing to do with art.”
Both artists dominated the music scene during similar timelines, possibly leading to the rivalry.
Mariah Gave A Diplomatic Response To The Madonna Feud
After the Madonna interview, Mariah retaliated. Fans waited anxiously to know the real reason Mariah and Madonna didn’t get along. An interviewer asked Mariah the reasons she stayed silent even after being taunted. He came well-armed and said, “You know, for instance, Madonna isn’t your greatest fan.”
Mariah responded by nodding her head in affirmation of the interviewer’s statement. The interviewer continued to ask a young Mariah if she would confront Madonna and ask why she had dissed her.
A classy Mariah responded with a statement that shocked the world. She wouldn’t play in the mud with the "Material Girl" artist. Mariah said, “No, because I already know.” She continued, “People who say negative things about others usually have something going on within themselves that you know is driving them to sort of vent in different places. So it usually stems from one’s own insecurity.”
A young Mariah Carey carried herself with so much grace and class in the interview. She responded with maturity and probably toned down the feud and earned more respect in the industry.
In another clip, Mariah said she hadn’t paid attention to Madonna since she was about 7th or 8th grade when the star was popular. She said this with a smirk on her face as the audience laughed at her comment.
Pop fans would quickly take sides after the rivalry ensued, with the media following patiently to see if either party would attack the other.
Mariah Carey Doesn't Always Keep A Level Head When People Are Rude
Looks can be deceiving. The artist had a baby face that seemed so soft-spoken. However, underneath the soft-spoken look lived a fierce Mariah who would always defend herself against nasty remarks from other artists and media personalities.
In one popular feud, Mariah denies that she ever dated Eminem. The rapper said otherwise, prompting him to release the diss song, "The Warning." Mariah responded with the song "Obsessed," which was a commercial success and made Eminem look bad, consequently branding him a lover boy.
The Songbird Supreme disclosed in an interview with Naomi Campbell that Sandra Bernhard once called her the “N” word back in the day. Mariah called out Sandra for being "mean," and things got messy while she was demanding an explanation for Sandra's racist remarks.
Sandra defended herself and said that Paul Mooney gave her permission to use the word. However, Mariah wasn’t having it. She made the world aware that Sandra was racist and should apologize to the black community.
On yet another occasion, Nicki Minaj and Mariah Carey joined Randy Jackson on the American Idol judge panel. The two artists hardly saw each other eye to eye. At one point, Nicki told Mariah to clean her ears, so she could hear the contestants well and judge better.
Mariah retaliated by saying she didn’t know that Nicki sang. It was a shade that led to Nicki having an outburst. The pair did not return to the show as judges.
Trust Mariah Carey to put up a fight and defend herself against naysayers. After the feud with Madonna, the five-time Grammy award winner didn’t fancy being on the same stage as the "La Isla Bonita" artist. However, Madonna once shut down an interviewer for trying to ignite the feud: she said two beautiful artists with the same initials can coexist in the same world.
