Carey: 'Calling me a diva is lazy'

Rex Features

Mariah Carey has criticised journalists who describe her as a diva.

In an interview with The Mirror, the singer added that she has been given that label because the media want to stereotype her.

"At its heart, I think it's lazy journalism," she said. "I was on the first Divas Live show and that seemed to kick the whole thing off.

"You know, my mother - who was an opera singer - used to use the term as a compliment. It meant a very talented singer. But I looked it up in the dictionary recently and now it also means a difficult and demanding woman.

"I guess people like to put you in a little box, and that box fits me because I have the big hair, and I wear the tight dresses on stage. But that doesn't mean I'm difficult or nasty."

Carey added that she has learnt to ignore the media's portrayal of her.

"I remember a story in the British press saying I'd demanded rose petals be scattered on the carpet of a London hotel when I arrived," she said. "The truth is, we'd just landed, it was 3am, and all I wanted to do was go straight to my room.

"The back entrance would have been fine, never mind rose petals! I'd never ask for anything like that. But that sort of stuff is written about me, so I've just learnt to shake it off."

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