Mimi posted an audio recording in her own words on Sunday morning.
One week after her headline-making New Year’s Eve performance, Mariah Carey is finally speaking out in her own words about the events that unfolded. The pop diva released an audio recording on Twitter, explaining her side of the story for the first time after suffering technical difficulties on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
“I haven’t really addressed the situation that happened on New Year’s Eve, and in time I will. But for now, I want everyone to know that I came to New Year’s Eve in New York in great spirits and was looking forward to a celebratory moment with the world,” the GRAMMY winner said in the recording. “It’s a shame that we were put into the hands of a production team with technical issues who chose to capitalize on circumstances beyond our control.”
In my own words. #NYE #L4L ? #thefoilers pic.twitter.com/1jZ40WUeuH
— Mariah Carey (@MariahCarey) January 8, 2017
WATCH: EXCLUSIVE: Mariah Carey's Manager Is 'Furious' Over 'Disastrous' NYE Performance
Carey, who has admitted to singing along with a pre-recorded track during the festive performance, added, “It’s not practical for a singer to sing live and be able to hear themselves properly in the middle of Times Square with all the noise, the freezing cold, the smoke from the smoke machines, and thousands of people celebrating, especially when their ear monitors are not working properly.”
The “Emotions” singer went on to accuse the production company of purposefully sabotaging her, saying, “Listen guys, they foiled me, thus it turned into an opportunity to humiliate me and all those who were excited to ring in the New Year with me. Eventually, I will explain this in greater detail than I can give here.”
Carey ended by thanking her fans and announcing that she will be taking a brief hiatus from life in the spotlight.
“I’m going to take a break from media moments, social media moments,” she said, adding, “Although I’m going to fulfill my professional obligations, this is an important time for me to finally take a moment for myself and to be with my loved ones and prepare for my upcoming tour in March. I just want to thank everyone for their support, thank you to all my industry friends and thank you to my Lambs, you’re always there for me. I can’t imagine life without you and you’ll always be a part of me. I can’t wait to sing for you again.”
Since the incident occurred last Saturday, Ryan Seacrest, who was hosting the show, spoke out on his radio show this week, saying, “It is difficult to perform in Times Square. [Carey] knows what Times Square is about. It’s complicated. Imagine every single TV outlet in the world was there. So, there’s all kinds of technical things going on.”
Carey’s manager, Stella Bulochnikov, did not accept that explanation, telling ET, “They could have cut to a commercial, they could have edited the West Coast feed to make her look good.So when we say words like sabotage, I'm not saying you intentionally decided, 'Hey! We're gonna sabotage Mariah Carey tonight.'"
ET reached out to Dick Clark Productions, who has no comment to Mariah's audio clip Sunday morning.
“As the premier producer of live television events for nearly 50 years, we pride ourselves on our reputation and long-standing relationships with artists,” a statement from Dick Clark Productions issued on Jan. 1 read.
“To suggest that Dick Clark Productions, as producer of music shows including the American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, New Year’s Rockin’ Eve and Academy of Country Music Awards, would ever intentionally compromise the success of any artist is defamatory, outrageous and frankly absurd.”
“In very rare instances there are of course technical errors that can occur with live television, however, an initial investigation has indicated that Dick Clark Productions had no involvement in the challenges associated with Ms. Carey’s New Year’s Eve performance,” Dick Clark Productions’ statement continued, defending the production against accusations of deliberate sabotage. “We want to be clear that we have the utmost respect for Ms. Carey as an artist and acknowledge her tremendous accomplishments in the industry.”
For more on the backlash following Carey’s NYE performance, watch the clip below.