"Yeah, I am like a petulant child. But my true fans know this. I'm eternally 12. But we're artists," Carey also confessed.
Mariah Carey is ready to clear up a few misunderstandings regarding her alleged nervous breakdown in 2001.
During an interview with Variety, the global superstar revealed what really caused her hospitalization at the time, which followed a surreal appearance on MTV's "TRL", despondent messages on her website and what was described by a spokesperson as an "incident of breaking dishes".
"It was an emotional and physical breakdown, but it wasn't a nervous breakdown, because you don't recover from that really," explained the 49-year-old. Her therapist agreed and came up with a more succinct explanation. "You didn't have a breakdown; you had a diva fit and people couldn't handle it," said the expert according to Mariah.
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View StoryBut her therapist said the breakdown also had to do with Mariah's penchant for wanting to make everybody else happy. "He's like 'You always try to be such a nice person where you smile, and when you smile everything goes away. Everybody thinks you're fine,'" she explained.
Mariah's breaking point was when she realized she needed help with her hectic career and no one on her team stepped up to the plate.
"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,' nobody could handle it because they infantilized me from the beginning," she said.
But the "Glitter" actress is well aware that she can come off immature considering her necessities.
"And by the way, I do need someone to be like, 'Ok, we've got to go, you're running late.' Yeah, I am like a petulant child. But my true fans know this. I'm eternally 12. But we're artists," she confessed.
Later in the interview, Mariah opened up about navigating stardom as a bi-racial celebrity, working on her upcoming memoir and how she feels about the #MeToo movement.
"I'm so proud of the women who have come to tell their stories, because I didn't do it, and I should have done it. That's an incredible accomplishment. As a woman, yeah, I've been in situations where I'm looking at stuff now going, 'Oh my god, this happened to me, that happened to me. I totally relate to this woman's experience.'
But if she is ever going to talk specifics about those experiences, she said she'll save it for the memoir.
And regarding "Glitter" -- the 2001 box office bomb that is having a bit of a revival -- Mariah is here for it.
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View Story"And by the way, #JusticeforGlitter with my fans. I hope you include that if we talk about it, because the album went to No. 1 this year. That was a huge achievement for [my fans] the Lambs, who by the way named themselves," she offered.
But she is not here for pop stars who created their followers' moniker.
"I did not name my fans, and I think it's insulting that other people have named their fans. But whatever."
Keep it diva, queen.