Mariah Carey says she ‘reached out’ to Britney Spears amid conservatorship battle: ‘It was the right thing’

Carey said she wanted the ‘Toxic’ hitmaker to know she wasn’t alone

Mariah Carey “reached out” to Britney Spears during her conservatorship battle to express solidarity and offer support.

During an interview with NME, the “All I Want For Christmas Is You” singer criticised the controversial legal arrangement that deprived Spears of basic freedoms, such as the right to get off birth control or to plan her own shows.

Carey told the publication: “I think everybody on this planet deserves to be free and what they did to her, what I saw, was horrific.”

The singer has also struggled with her own mental health problems. She first publicly spoke about struggling with bipolar disorder in 2018, but was diagnosed in 2001.

In a recent interview, she also admitted she struggled to enjoy Christmas while she was growing up because of Carey’s “dysfunctional family”.

When asked if she felt an “affinity” to the “Toxic” hitmaker, Carey – who has spoken publicly about her own mental health issues – responded that supporting Spears was simply “the right thing to do”.

Carey said she was inspired by the late artist Prince, who reached out to her when she was “going through a lot of stuff years ago”, gave her a Bible and talked to her “for hours”.

Explaining the she first reached out to Spears via a mutual friend, Carey continued: “I wanted her to know: ‘Guess what? You’re not alone.’”

“It doesn’t matter whether they’re my best friend or whatever, I just felt like it was the right thing to do,” Carey added.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Spears was recently freed from the conservatorship she was placed under 13 years ago.

On 12 November, Judge Brenda Penny ruled that the conservatorship be terminated with “immediate effect” noting that it was “no longer required”.