Everything Mariah Carey does is iconic, so it stands to reason that an offhand comment she made about Jennifer Lopez would become a meme.
As W magazine notes, the legendary singer’s hilarious response to a question about Lopez was swiftly adopted by the internet and has lived on in the years since in a way that even Carey herself probably didn’t envision. She’s mostly taken it in good humor, though, shouting out a fan who was wearing an “I don’t know her” shirt at one of Carey’s gigs.
When Pitchfork asked whether she’s aware of the memes, the “Fantasy” hit-maker responded, “Some of them, yes. It is what it is. You have to embrace it.” As for what she actually meant about Lopez, Carey explained, “I really was trying to say something nice or say nothing at all. I really was.”
Although it’s tough seeing the moment being endlessly picked apart, Carey tries not to get too swept up in it, admitting, “I don’t know how people read comments all the time and then survive.”
Thankfully, she has a strong “support system” around her, she says, which helps Carey differentiate between what really matters and what doesn’t. At the same time, though, stories of a beef between the two singers have circulated for years, per The U.S. Sun.
