Mariah Carey has finally spoken out about one of the most famous Internet memes of all time, in which she cuttingly shades Jennifer Lopez with the insult now heard round the world: "I don't know her". Mariah says she doesn't know what all the fuss is about as she was "just being honest", all while citing a t-shirt of the meme as a favorite fan-made gift.
It all harkens back to the early 2000's when Carey was asked about fellow divas Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez in a foreign TV interview. Although Mariah graciously calls Beyoncé "nice" and "a good writer", she disses Lopez with the ultimate four-word insult, accompanied by a knowing smile that has graced the GIFs and memes of countless Internet posts.
Now, in a new interview, Carey referenced the meme when answering a question about what fan made gifts she has recently received. She begins her answer as only classic Mariah could, by yawning and claiming "I don't know....I'm sorry, I'm having a "sleep" moment...". Then she remembers the t-shirt.
"Well, there was a very interesting shirt that a fan made with a quote that I said years ago that, when I said it, I really wasn't trying to be funny", she explains , setting up new shade: "I was just being honest and everybody's kind of blowing it out of proportion but this guy had a shirt on and it was a picture of me that he made and the quote was underneath it - and I'm going to leave you hanging as to what it was." When further pressed, she admits the interviewer could probably search her reference on Google, and there's no doubt among Mariah's Lambs that she was alluding to the J-Lo diss meme, which has spawned a bevy of fan-made t-shirts with the "I Don't Know Her" tagline.
Fans love Mariah's special form of shade because she manages to flawlessly perform the ultimate "double insult", ignoring someone by maintaining she is so above them that she doesn't even know who they are, while still maintaining a slight knowing glimmer in her eye which indicates that of course, she does. Check out her technique in the original video clip below, and then watch her use it to obliterate rival American Idol judge Nicki Minaj in a recent interview with Barbara Walters. Then, look out for the diva's latest Internet meme sensation, surely coming soon to a computer near you: "I Was Just Being Honest".
