Mariah Carey discussed an ‘extremely uncomfortable’ 2008 appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where the host tried to force her to reveal she was pregnant, in an interview with Vulture on Monday
The 50-year-old legend said that she was, in fact, expecting at the time but wasn’t yet ready to make the pregnancy public.
In the clip, Ellen tried to force Mariah to reveal prove she wasn’t with child by making her toast with champagne in front of the audience – a move that Carey has ‘had a hard time grappling with’ in the years since.
More backlash: Mariah Carey discussed an ‘extremely uncomfortable’ 2008 appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where the host tried to force her to reveal she was pregnant, in an interview with Vulture on Monday
‘I was extremely uncomfortable with that moment is all I can say,’ Mariah told Vulture. ‘And I really have had a hard time grappling with the aftermath.’
During the segment, Ellen casually asked about rumors that Carey, and her husband at the time Nick Cannon, were expecting.
‘I don’t discuss that,’ Mariah answered uncomfortably, trying to laugh it off.
Ellen pretended that it was no big deal but then, as part of a comedy bit, brought out a bottle of champagne to try to trick Carey into either drinking it – thus settling the pregnancy question.
Awkward: In the clip, Mariah tries to laugh it off as Ellen ‘peer pressures’ her to confirm rumors that she was expecting a baby by daring her to drink champagne in front of the audience
‘I was extremely uncomfortable with that moment is all I can say,’ Mariah told Vulture. ‘And I really have had a hard time grappling with the aftermath.’
First Mariah tried to say that champagne is fattening (there is no fat in champagne) and then she seemed to think that you couldn’t have real champagne on TV.
Once she realized it was the real deal, Mariah said: ‘I can’t believe you did this to me Ellen.’
‘This is peer pressure. Do you see what Ellen is doing? This is peer pressure,’ the Grammy winner said while the audience roared with laughter.
‘Let’s toast to you not being pregnant,’ Ellen quipped while handing her a glass.
‘This is peer pressure. Do you see what Ellen is doing? This is peer pressure,’ the Grammy winner said during the segment while the audience roared with laughter. ‘Let’s toast to you not being pregnant,’ Ellen quipped in response while handing her a glass
Good sport: Trying to make things less uncomfortable, Mariah took a sip that seemed to be fake and the host exclaimed, ‘You are pregnant!’
Trying to play ball, Mariah took a sip that seemed to be fake and the host exclaimed, ‘You are pregnant!’
Looking back, Carey explained that the whole ordeal put her in a very uncomfortable and tricky position.
‘I wasn’t ready to tell anyone because I had had a miscarriage,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to throw anyone that’s already being thrown under any proverbial bus, but I didn’t enjoy that moment.’
She miscarried not long after her cringe-worthy appearance on Ellen’s show.
Timing: Mariah was, in fact, pregnant at the time but she wasn’t ready to make the news public; she miscarried not long after her appearance on the show
‘I wasn’t ready to tell anyone because I had had a miscarriage,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to throw anyone that’s already being thrown under any proverbial bus, but I didn’t enjoy that moment.’
Looking back, the icon said that there is ‘an empathy that can be applied to those moments that I would have liked to have been implemented.’
Adding: ‘But what am I supposed to do? It’s like, [sings] “What are you going to do?”‘
Carey and Cannon, who were married from 2008 to 2016, went on to welcome twins Moroccan and Monroe in 2011.
When the former couple revealed – on their own terms – that they were expecting in 2010, Mariah was candid about her difficulty conceiving.
Family time: Mariah and her husband at the time, Nick Cannon, went on to welcome twins Moroccan and Monroe three years later
‘It was really sad,’ she said during an Access Hollywood interview at the time. ‘We had really to absorb this… We really learned a lot just as people.’
Mariah’s appearance on Ellen resurfaced as the 62-year-old is dealing with a widespread workplace sandal.
Multiple allegations of bullying, harassment and toxicity have been leveled against Ellen and top producers on her shows by both past and present staffers.
Issues: Mariah’s interview recently went viral in the wake of a toxic workplace scandal on the set of the Ellen Show which lead to an internal investigation by WarnerMedia into allegations of bullying and harassment
An internal investigation into the allegations is being conducted by WarnerMedia and so far, three executive producers have been fired.
Additionally, as part of the damage control, Ellen has apologized to her employees and is reportedly implementing new benefits for staffers including paid days off and a better medical leave policy.
Carey’s interview comes as she is promoting new music, her upcoming memoir and a Christmas special set to air on Apple+.
Big things: Carey’s interview with Vulture comes as she is promoting new music, her upcoming memoir and a Christmas special set to air on Apple+