Mariah Carey has shared how she feels about Muni Long and Tori Kelly‘s tributary performances to her on the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards.
Carey made headlines on Wednesday after her reactions to Long and Kelly’s performances went viral, with some dubbing her the “meme queen.”
Some fans also wondered if the pop diva’s response was an indication of her disapproval of each ladies’ performances. Nonetheless, along with her latest post, she has now cleared the air on any misgivings.
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Mariah Carey Expresses Gratitude To Muni Long And Tori Kelly
Carey has nothing but love and gratitude for Long and Kelly, who made tributary performances in her honor on the just-concluded iHeartRadio Awards.
Taking to her Instagram Story, Carey shared a photograph of herself, Long, and Kelly looking dashing of their outfits for the award night.
Within the caption, she expressed how she felt concerning the women’s tribute to her. “So beyond grateful for these two gorgeous, uber-talented, kind, incredible musicians who made my heart so filled with joy with their tribute performances on the @iheartradio awards.”
She concluded, “I really like and appreciate you a lot!!!”
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Fans React To Mariah Carey’s Appreciation Post
Many fans were delighted that Carey cleared the air after her reactions went viral and urged people to cool down on the narrative that she didn’t benefit from the performances.
One fan wrote, “Cause y’all want her to be mean so bad now y’all can hush! You may tell Mariah enjoyed her tribute.”
One other person wrote, “Mariah said she gonna clear that up real quick.”
A 3rd person noted that Carey wasn’t displeased with the performances however the lighting. They explained, “You may definitely tell it was the lighting that was pissing her off.”
A fourth fan added, “She looks taken by the moment, honored and genuinely filled with gratitude.”
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Mariah Carey Goes Viral For Her Response To Muni Long And Tori Kelly’s Performances
Carey’s post comes after she went viral for her response to Kelly and Long’s performance.
The “Without You” singer, who was presented with the Icon Award on the awards ceremony, watched as Long and Kelly performed a few of her biggest hits.
In a single viral clip, Carey slowly turned her head and gave a serious side-eye expression as Long sang “We Belong Together.”
Carey also had the same expression to Long’s performance of “At all times Be My Baby” as she seemingly looked unimpressed.
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Fans React To Carey’s Response
Videos of Carey’s apparent dislike of Long and Kelly’s performance quickly dominated social media, and plenty of netizens quickly turned the situation right into a meme.
One X user wrote, “This gif of Mariah Carey will go down in history,” while one other person named her the “meme queen.”
One other fan joked, “She was wondering why they didn’t book Ariana [Grande].”
Nonetheless, despite the viral moment, Carey totally enjoyed Long and Kelly’s performances.
Videos also showed her smiling and swaying back and forth as the ladies belted out lyrics from lots of her chart-topping classics.
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Muni Long Addresses Critics
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Because the reactions to the viral moments continued, Long stepped in to make clear the situation and revealed that Mariah Carey was pleased along with her performance.
The “Made for Me” singer continued, “She asked me to do it. You thought I selected to get on TV and sing a Mariah Carey song? You thought that was my selection? Why would I try this? No one can sing Mariah’s songs like Mariah. No one. I did my best, and that is all I can do.”
Long also revealed that she had “footage” of Carey praising her performance but noted that she would not be posting it since the icon’s “lighting wasn’t right. And I’m not gonna try this to my girl. You realize how Ms. Carey is about her lighting.”
The Grammy Award winner added, “She told me I did an ideal job. She appreciated it. And that is it. Once more, if she pushed me down the steps if she told me she hated it, I might say thanks. That is what I might say.”
Long also thanked her supporters for uplifting and loving her through every little thing.
