Mariah Carey says she is ‘high-maintenance because she deserves to be’ following childhood poverty

Singer-songwriter responded to long-standing rumours of ‘diva’ behaviour

Mariah Carey has claimed she is high-maintenance because she “deserves to be”, after suffering years of childhood poverty.

The singer/songwriter’s new memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, features stories and anecdotes from her life so far, including traumatic experiences involving racist bullying she endured as a child, as well as alleged abuse perpetrated by her older siblings.

Carey has now laughed off the long-standing rumours of her “diva” attitude and high-maintenance behaviour.

“You know what? I don’t give a s***,” Carey told The Guardian. “I f***ing am high-maintenance because I deserve to be at this point. That may sound arrogant, but I hope you frame it within the context of coming from nothing.

“If I can’t be high-maintenance after working my ass off my entire life, oh, I’m sorry – I didn’t realise we all had to be low-maintenance. Hell, no! I was always high-maintenance, it’s just I didn’t have anyone to do the maintenance when I was growing up!”

She also added that she does not understand why the word “diva” is meant to be insulting.

“You think in the grand scheme of things in my life that really matters to me, being called a diva?” she asked. “I am, bitches, that’s right!”

Mariah Carey in December 2019 (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images)

Carey’s memoir also finds the star recalling her “oppressive” marriage to the music producer Tommy Mottola, who was 20 years her senior.