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Mariah Carey Faces Backlash Over Plans To Trademark 'Queen Of Christmas'

Home / Entertainment / Mariah Carey Faces Backlash Over Plans To Trademark 'Queen Of Christmas'

By Fiyin Olowokandi on August 18, 2022 at 11:00 AM EDT

Mariah Carey's plan to literally become the Queen of Christmas and trademark the title isn't sitting well with many, especially her fellow holiday singers, Darlene Love and Elizabeth Chan.

The Christmas song powerhouses voiced their thoughts about Carey's actions, and they are anything but happy about it.

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Mariah Carey Pisses Off Fellow Holiday Singers

Back in March, reports surfaced that the "Always Be My Baby" singer filed an application to trademark the phrase "Queen of Christmas" after earning it unofficially thanks to the immense success of her hit track, "All I Want For Christmas."

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The trademark application was made public in July and it was revealed that Carey requested exclusive usage of "Queen of Christmas," alongside other monikers like "Princess of Christmas," "QOC," and "Christmas Princess."

Now a month after the application was made public, Darlene and Chan are criticizing Carey for trying to monopolize the holiday. Chan, a known musical artist who strictly dabbles in carols and Christmas songs, has taken to the court to fight the "Obsessed" singer’s trademark filing.

Chan, who even has a recently-released album titled "Queen of Christmas," had her attorney file a formal declaration opposing Carey’s trademark.

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Chan and her attorney in an interview with Variety Magazine, said, "Christmas has come way before any of us on earth, and hopefully will be around way after any of us on earth. And I feel very strongly that no one person should hold onto anything around Christmas or monopolize it in the way that Mariah seeks to in perpetuity."

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The "Ghost of Christmas Past" singer continued, "That’s just not the right thing to do. Christmas is for everyone. It’s meant to be shared; it’s not meant to be owned. And it’s not just about the music business. She’s trying to trademark this in every imaginable way — clothing, liquor products, masks, dog collars — it’s all over the map. If you knit a ‘queen of Christmas’ sweater, you should be able to sell it on Etsy to somebody else so they can buy it for their grandma. It’s crazy — it would have that breadth of registration."

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Chan explained that she earned the title of Queen of Christmas as far back as 2014 when "All Access" used it to describe her in the media. The title gained even more traction when a New Yorker profile about her had the headline "The Queen of Christmas."

Darlene Love Declares Herself Queen Of Christmas

Love, who is undoubtedly a powerhouse in the holiday music industry with a career that spans almost seven decades, spoke out after hearing about Chan’s filing.

Love became synonymous with Christmas after she sang several tracks on "Phil Spector’s Christmas Album" collection, which has earned the title of one of the greatest Christmas pop albums of all time. Her hit track, "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," is such a beloved holiday anthem that renowned show host David Letterman had her perform the classic on his show every year from 1986 to 2014.

Love referenced Letterman’s approval of her talent in a Facebook rant dedicated to Carey. "Is it true that Mariah Carey trademarked ‘Queen of Christmas’? What does that mean that I can’t use that title? Love began her post.

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She continued, "David Letterman officially declared me the Queen of Christmas 29 years ago, a year before she released ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You,’ and at 81 years of age I’m NOT changing anything. I’ve been in the business for 52 years, have earned it, and can still hit those notes! If Mariah has a problem call David or my lawyer!!"

The "Touch My Body" singer is yet to publicly respond to Chan and Love’s criticism. However, back in June, she was slammed with a copyright infringement lawsuit over her hit holiday tune, "All I Want For Christmas."

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As The Blast reported, Carey was sued by a songwriter named Andy Stone who claimed he wrote a song with the same name five years before Carey’s. Stone demanded a minimum of $20 million in damages claiming that the 53-year-old took advantage of his "popularity and unique style."

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