Mariah Carey

At the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Olympics, Carey performed Volare in Italian. Observers questioned the use of a large phonetic teleprompter and the possibility of a prerecorded or dubbed performance.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Directly implicated

Andy Stone, known as Vince Vance, and Troy Powers maintained that Carey's hit copied their earlier country song of the same title and sought at least 20 million dollars.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Morgan Carey sued his sister for defamation and other claims over several passages in the memoir describing him, notably, as violent. A 2022 ruling dismissed much of the case but allowed certain statements to remain at issue; in 2024, the court refused Morgan's application for default or summary judgment on the remaining matters.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Carey's company, Lotion LLC, applied to register Queen of Christmas, Princess Christmas and QOC as trademarks for numerous goods and services. Elizabeth Chan formally opposed the applications, and Darlene Love publicly criticised the attempt.

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

Alison Carey sued Mariah Carey following publication of The Meaning of Mariah Carey, claiming that certain passages about abuse and family events had caused her severe emotional distress and seeking at least 1.25 million dollars.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Carey sued her former assistant Lianna Shakhnazarian, accusing her of recording private moments without permission and attempting to extort her, among other allegations. Shakhnazarian in turn accused Carey of mistreatment and tolerating abusive behaviour by her manager.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Protagonist is the complainant

Former manager Stella Bulochnikov brought proceedings alleging sexual harassment, breach of contract and civil rights violations, among other claims, following the end of their professional relationship.

During the 2016 New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square, Carey interrupted or allowed several songs to continue after stating that she could not hear her monitors properly. The broadcast showed prerecorded vocals continuing while she was no longer singing, provoking massive controversy.

State of the evidence

Disputed

Attribution

Shared responsibility

Filming of American Idol was marked by repeated confrontations between Carey and Nicki Minaj. Carey stated that she had learned Minaj had allegedly made a threat involving a firearm and increased her security.

State of the evidence

Disputed

Attribution

Directly implicated

Rachele Chafir claimed that It's Like That, by Carey and her co-writers, infringed her work Sexy.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Rhonda Dimmie brought a separate action alleging that Hero reproduced her song Be Your Own Hero, which she had previously sent to Columbia Records.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused

Christopher Selletti sued Carey and Sony, claiming that the lyrics of Hero originated from an unpublished text he had written that had allegedly been passed indirectly to Carey's associates.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Accused