Pop divas make our worlds go round, so when there is trouble, we all eat it up.
And one of the most notorious feuds of all time is between Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez. These two
have provided some classically shady entertainment on and off the stage — and we thank them for it.
As it turns out, Mariah Carey's ex-husband, Tommy Mottola, is actually at the center of
the beef between Carey and Jennifer Lopez. In her 2020 memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey,
the singer revealed that as she was working on Glitter, she secured a sample from Yellow
Magic Orchestra's 1978 song "Firecracker," which she was going to use for her single,
"Loverboy." Mottola, who was head of Sony Music Entertainment at the
time and seemingly bitter about their divorce, found out. According to Carey,
"After hearing my new song, using the same sample I used,
Sony rushed to make a single for another female entertainer on their label (whom I don't know)."
After years of denying ever having known Lopez,
it was easy for fans to deduce that she was the female entertainer in question.
Things may have been happening behind-the-scenes, but an interview conducted in the early 2000s
indicated to the public that something was going on between Mariah Carey and J.Lo.
Carey was on the German TV program Taff, and when asked about Beyoncé,
she had nothing but incredible praise for the "Crazy in Love" singer, stating,
"I love Beyoncé. Beyoncé is fabulous. I think she's a great writer,
great singer. She's a very sweet person as well."
The same question then came about Lopez, and Carey simply stated,
"I don't know her."
Nothing was ever the same.
During a 2002 appearance on Larry King Live, the renowned
interviewer coyly asked Mariah Carey if there were any conflicts in the music industry,
or between her and Jennifer Lopez. Carey swiftly responded,
"There are rivalries, but I don't think she has anything to do with me.
My whole thing is singing, writing songs [...] I've been doing this my whole life."
"Singing is, first and foremost,
it's a God-given talent that I'm grateful for. Her thing is something different."
If there were any questions on how she really felt about being compared to the
Maid in Manhattan actress, they were all put to rest right then.
After years of letting Mariah Carey control the narrative, Jennifer Lopez finally gave
her take on the entire drama during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live.
Host Andy Cohen directly asked the singer if she had a feud with Carey, to which J.Lo responded,
"I don't have a feud against her at all. I know from back in the day,
I've read things that she's said about me that were not the greatest. But we have never met.
Like, we don't know each other. I think it's from, like, kind of word-of-mouth,
of things that have happened in the past that I'm not really aware of."
At the time, Lopez seemed hopeful that the two may even start a relationship in the future.
"I would love to meet her and I would love to be friends with her. I think she is incredibly
talented and I've always been a fan of hers. 'My All,' is one of my favorite songs of all time."
Sadly, it was all wishful thinking.
In 2015, while promoting her film The Boy Next Door,
Jennifer Lopez made an appearance on Watch What Happens Live. At the time,
rumors were swirling that she would join the likes of Britney Spears and Celine Dion in
getting her own residency in Las Vegas. When asked whether she'd go watch Britney Spears or
Mariah Carey perform if she had only one night in Vegas, Lopez swiftly responded,
"Britney, 'cause she dances."
Given her history with Carey,
we're sure there was just a slight hint of shade buried somewhere in her response.
With her Las Vegas residency officially underway, Jennifer Lopez stopped by The Wendy Williams Show
to promote the gig and her NBC primetime show, Shades of Blue. It was only natural that Williams,
a well-known lover of gossip, would bring up the infamous feud. Lopez told the host,
"I didn't see Mariah, because at the time she wasn't playing. She hadn't started yet."
"Who?"
Williams couldn't help but reference Carey's famous "I don't know her" moment.
Luckily, J.Lo just laughed and joked,
"She does say that. She's forgetful, I guess. I don't know. We've met many times!"
With their relationship already in shambles,
the "forgetful" comment from J.Lo reached Mariah Carey,
and it seems that the "We Belong Together" singer did not take too kindly to it. Carey was clearly
bothered by the comment when she made her own appearance on Watch What Happens Live, and said,
"Apparently, I'm forgetful because I don't remember the fact that it was just like,
'Hi, I'm so and so,' and then move on."
In fact, Carey continued to imply that her interactions with Lopez had all been
brief, and explained to Cohen,
"If I had never had a conversation with you and someone asked me about you,
I'd be like, 'I don't know him, but he seems cool.' Or 'I don't know him.'"
The host pressed the songstress again, asking whether or not she thought J.Lo was cool.
Carey stressed again that she didn't know her. The diva did admit, though,
that the Taff interview has been blown out of proportion.
"It's no offense to anybody, [but] the question was about Beyonce [...] and then they asked
me another question and I don't know how I said it but, I was like 'I don't know her.'
It wasn't like I don't know who she is, of course I do. That's not the question."
Things are bleak for fans out there hoping these two divas will eventually meet, be friends, and
maybe hop on a song together. TMZ caught Mariah Carey dashing out of her hotel in 2016, and as she
was signing an autograph for a fan, she was once again asked about the famous quote. Over a decade
later, it seems nothing had changed, because as she bolted to her waiting SUV, Carey responded,
"I still don't know her."
In a 2018 interview with Pitchfork, Carey gave a bit more insight into that renowned comment.
As it turns out, she was merely following the advice we all were given as young kids,
and told the publication,
"I really was trying to say something nice or say nothing at all. I really was."
Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez are yet to officially meet. However, if history is any
indicator, it's likely that these two will be speaking about each other again in the future.
And if we're really lucky, maybe Lopez will write a memoir and spill some tea of her own.
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