Christmas Tour and Fan Backlash 'Just Too Much' for Mariah Carey (EXCL)
Mariah Carey’s getting it from all angles right now as her tour descends into chaos, fans accuse her of using AI to cheat and she’s ripped to pieces for her diva antics – and a source exclusively tells Life & Style she just can’t wait for this year to be over.
“Under normal circumstances this would all be a lot to handle, but in the midst of her trying to cope with the grief of both her mother and sister dying, it’s just way too much,” the source says.
Back in August, Mariah, 55, revealed that her mom, Patricia, and her sister, Alison, both died on the same day. “My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend. Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day,” the multi-platinum singer said in a statement to People on August 26.
The “Emotions” singer had a complicated relationship with her mother, from whom she said she inherited her angelic vocal talent, throughout her entire life and had reportedly been estranged from her sister for years before her tragic death.
“It’s true her relationship with her sister was very strained, but in some ways that makes the loss even harder because there’s no longer any chance for a healing,” the source adds. “Her relationship with her mom was complicated too, but they were still very close. She was with her mom for the entire week before she passed so there’s nothing that feels unsaid, and she’s grateful for that but the loss has been very profound.”
The shock of their passing and the horrible timing hit Mariah hard, which led to the singer “pushing herself to extremes,” in preparation for the Holiday season, according to a second source who previously spoke to Life & Style.
The season is the most important to the self-appointed “Queen of Christmas” as it’s when “she makes the lion’s share of her income.” Her “anxiety about someone else stealing her Christmas crown is driving her to go way overboard,” said that insider.
With the pressure mounting, some fans have been calling out the notorious diva for behaving as such on her tour as reports about her extreme back-stage demands emerge and even accusations she’s been using AI to fake promo videos, but the first source argues the “Songbird Supreme” is doing her best just to keep her head above water considering the extreme circumstances.
“It’s never a good time for a loved one to die, but the fact that she had to go straight into all of her Christmas promo season made it all that much harder, because she hasn’t had a beat to even process her feelings and she has to be out there smiling and putting on a happy show when all she wants to do is hide under the covers,” the insider says.
“She’s not sleeping well and is still crying on and off and with all the stress from work piled on top – people are worried she’s going to hit a wall and snap.”