Mariah Carey's Therapist Told Her She 'Had a Diva Fit' — and She Totally Owns It: 'We're Artists'
Mariah Carey is standing up for herself.
In a new cover story with Variety for its annual Power of Women issue, the musical superstar opens up about her “alleged” breakdown in 2001 while discussing being a woman in the music industry.
“It was an emotional and physical breakdown, but it wasn’t a nervous breakdown, because you don’t recover from that really,” the singer told the outlet. “And even my therapist was like, ‘You didn’t have a breakdown; you had a diva fit and people couldn’t handle it.”
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While she always tried to keep a smile on her face even during difficult moments, Carey — who dedicates much of her time to The Fresh Air Funds’ Camp Mariah — says that ultimately was her downfall.
“These people are here making money off me; why don’t they care if nobody’s got an umbrella for me, and it’s a sunny shoot? And the minute I was like, ‘I’m not fine; I need a day off, I need a moment,'” she continued, “Nobody could handle it because they infantilized me from the beginning.”
Now, the star acknowledges she’s “like a petulant child” — and that’s just fine.
“My true fans know this. I’m eternally 12,” she says of her loyal lambily. “But we’re artists.”
Carey, along with her fellow honorees Jennifer Aniston, Awkwafina, Chaka Khan, Brie Larson and Dana Walden, will be celebrated for their philanthropic efforts at Variety‘s Power of Women luncheon in Los Angeles, presented by Lifetime, Audi and Moroccanoil.
