Mariah Carey Clarifies Why She Called Meghan Markle a Diva

For Mariah Carey, being a diva isn't a bad thing.

The "We Belong Together" singer recently joined Meghan Markle for the second episode of her podcast Archetypes, where they discussed what it means to be a diva. During their conversation, Mariah called Meghan a "diva," which took the Duchess of Sussex by surprise. In a new tweet, however, Mariah is clarifying what she actually meant when she referred to Meghan as a diva.

"Really enjoyed talking to Duchess and Diva Meghan Markle about 'The Duality of Diva,'" she tweeted on Sept. 2. "Yes! I called her a diva, in the most fabulous, gorgeous, and empowering meaning of the word!!! #Archetypes."

In the episode, Meghan initially denied being a diva.

"I think that's really important for people to remember," Meghan said during the Aug. 30 episode, "that there might be this persona, and yes, the ‘diva' thing we can play into."

While she noted that the term is "not something I connect to," Mariah interjected, saying, "You give us diva moments sometimes, Meghan."

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Expressing surprise, Meghan responded, "I do? What kind of diva moments do I give you?" And as the Grammy winner explained, "The visual, a lot of it's the visual."

"Well, I know," Mariah continued. "But let's pretend that you weren't so beautiful and didn't have the whole thing and didn't often have gorgeous ensembles—you wouldn't maybe get as much ‘diva' stuff."

Reflecting on her conversation with the "Emotions" singer at the end of the episode, Meghan explained how she felt being called a diva.

"It was all going swimmingly—I mean, really well—until that moment happened," she said. "I don't know about you, but it stopped me in my tracks when she called me a diva."

She continued, "You couldn't see me, obviously, but I started to sweat a little bit. I started squirming in my chair in this quiet revolt...My mind genuinely was just spinning with what nonsense [Mariah] must have read or clicked on to make her say that."

But examining the multitudes behind the word, Meghan didn't take offense to her comment after all, adding, "She meant it as ‘chic,' as ‘aspirational.' She meant ‘diva' as a compliment, but I heard it as a dig."