Mariah Carey is known as the Songbird Supreme. Not only has her five-octave voice impressed music lovers, but her incredible songwriting talent touched the hearts of her many fans. Carey has earned a record 19 number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and is an inductee of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Due to her astronomical success, Carey has reached a level of fame most people can't imagine experiencing.

It is due to this fame that Carey is protected by an entourage, which no doubt includes a publicist. However, that publicist would meet her match when an MTV VJ called her out in the middle of an interview. Carey herself seemed caught in the middle and tried to break up the fight as best she could.

Mariah Carey Attempted To Calmly End An Interview With MTV, But The Reporter Started Cursing Out Her Publicist

As the summer of 1997 was coming to a close, Mariah Carey was getting ready to release her sixth studio album "Butterfly."

The first part of the interview took place on a boat in New York City. The interview seemed to be going well, until Soren was interrupted by Carey’s publicist, Cindi Berger.

Berger told Soren that her time interviewing Carey was up. Soren, however, wasn’t finished asking Carey questions and an argument between her and Berger ensued.

“I should’ve been given some sort of warning because I have a couple of other questions that I have to ask. Can I beg for five more minutes?” Soren asked Berger.

• Soren was visibly and vocally frustrated with Berger, telling her it was “rude” to interrupt her question. Berger then explained to Soren that the boat had to return to port. Soren then suggested they finish the interview as the boat was being pulled in.
• “Can we just finish it up calmly?” Carey asked her publicist after Soren asked her directly if she could ask five more questions.

Soren, however, didn’t remain calm and instead, cursed out Berger. This caused Carey to become even more visibly uncomfortable.

“I’ve been through hell over the last couple of months for this interview, and you’re not going to f*** me over now,” Soren said.

“Every time I deal with you, it is a nightmare,” she continued.

Soren would later reflect on this incident, writing on Twitter that she didn’t regret “arguing with the Sony Records' publicist.” According to Soren, the two “were having a ball and Mariah found the PR woman's efforts to control the conversation as annoying as I did.”

Mariah Denied She Was Dating Diddy During The Same MTV Interview

The “Butterfly” album would see Carey moving past the carefully-crafted pop sound of her early records. Her true R&B influences would be expanded on even further this time around. She would also delve even further into hip hop this time around. She collaborated with everyone from Missy Elliot, Stevie J, Mobb Deep, and even Sean "Diddy" Combs.

Carey was also separated from her then-husband Tommy Mottola, whom she married in 1993. Given the new state of Carey's love life, rumors were swirling about who she was dating.

Instar

Normally, stars don't like to encourage attention to such stories. Most stars of Carey's stature would only dignify them with a response if asked. However, in the same 1997 interview with MTV, Carey poked fun at the rumor without being asked when talking to Soren.

While at a party to celebrate the release of Carey's upcoming album, Soren asked the singer, "Should we go find Puffy?"

"Why not?" Carey responded before sarcastically asking, "You mean my boyfriend Puffy?"

"Easy," Soren said, as if to warn Carey not to add any fuel to the fire.

"We're not together, just so the world knows. I love Puffy," Carey said. "Puffy and I are not together, so can we stop the rumors please?"

The Same Publicist Stopped An Interview Mariah Was Giving During The 'Glitter' Era

Due to Carey and Motolla's strained relationship, Carey's own relationship with Sony no longer felt supportive. After her "Rainbow" album in 1999, Carey left the company. She ended up signing with Virgin Records with one of the biggest deals in music history.

It was originally titled All That Glitters and in the works for many years. The title was later changed to Glitter and Carey said there were issues from the start. Carey claimed those involved with the film sanitized the original script's content in order for it to reach a wider audience.

Instar

Carey also said she worked around the clock, often operating on little to no sleep. When promoting the film, Carey often appeared tired and bickering with her entourage. One such incident occurred when Carey was giving an interview and began answering a question about "haters."

"We're all just living in the moment of being positive and there's, like, people called haters," Carey began, before Berger grabbed the microphone out of her hand.

At first, Carey tried to stop Berger from grabbing the microphone, saying, "No, no, no, no, Cindi, Cindi, one more thing!"

"...And we give them positivity," Carey said, trying to finish her answer. Berger, however, had succeeded in grabbing the microphone.

Carey was hospitalized and later said she suffered extreme exhaustion. Due to her hospitalization, the film was pushed back several times.

When it was finally released, it was a critical and commercial failure. The album's soundtrack was overshadowed by the film's failure and the increasing media attention on Carey's health. It was also released on September 11, 2001, a day that will forever mark one of the darkest tragedies in American history.

On top of all of this, Carey was dropped by Virgin Records, with the company paying Carey to exit her contract. Things looked incredibly bleak for Carey, but she eventually made a huge comeback with 2005's "The Emancipation of Mimi."