Mariah Carey Reacts To Being Mentioned In Britney Spears’ Memoir

Singer Mariah Carey is pleased with what Britney Spears wrote about her in her memoir, "The Woman In Me."

Although the now 41-year-old pop star has taken swings about her ex-boyfriends, ex-husbands, and her estranged family, she did have some very nice things to say about certain celebrities in her circle, including the Queen of Christmas.

In her memoir, "The Woman In Me," Britney recalled heading to Mariah's dressing room for a photo backstage at an awards show. "She opened it and out poured the most beautiful, otherworldly light. You know how we all have ring lights now? Well, more than twenty years ago, only Mariah Carey knew about ring lights. And no, I can’t just say her first name. To me she is always going to be Mariah Carey," she wrote, going on to explain that the "We Belong Together" singer taught her an important lesson about finding her best light.

"I asked if we could take a photo together and tried to take one where we were standing, and she said, 'No! Come stand here, darling. This is my light. This is my side. I want you to stand here so I can get my good side, girl,'" she wrote. "She kept saying that in her deep, beautiful voice: 'My good side, girl. My good side, girl.' ... I know I won an award that night, but I couldn’t even tell you what it was. The perfect photo with Mariah Carey — that was the real prize."

During an appearance on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on Thursday, November 2, host Jimmy Kimmel mentioned, "By the way, Britney Spears wrote about you in her book. Did you know that?"

"I heard something about it," she replied.

"Do you want to know what she wrote?" Jimmy asked. "But don't worry, it's good. It's not bad."

"I love her," Mariah responded. Jimmy then paused for a moment in order to read what Britney wrote about her in the book.

"Is it true about the ring lights? You had one in 2003?" Jimmy asked.

"Of course, I had a ring light," she replied. "By the way, I wasn't like 'I love a ring light.' By the way, I like a ring light when you cover the bottom edge of the ring light, because for me I don't like under lighting. It's very specific."

She went on to say, "By the way, that was super sweet what Britney said about me."

The Princess of Pop also had a lot of praise for the Queen of Pop, Madonna. She revealed that their 2003 MTV Video Music Awards kiss was rehearsed as an "air kiss" before she decided to just "go for it" and kiss Madonna on the lips.

"Every time we rehearsed it, we did an air kiss," she wrote in her memoir. "About two minutes before the performance, I was sitting on the side of the stage thinking about my biggest performance to date at the VMAs, when I’d pulled off a suit to reveal a sparkly outfit. I thought to myself: I want a moment like that again this year. With the kiss, should I just go for it? ... A lot was made of that kiss."

She later collaborated with Madonna on their 2003 hit song, “Me Against The Music,” in which Britney recalled how Madonna took command of their music video. "I was in awe of the ways Madonna would not compromise her vision," she wrote. "It was an important lesson for me, one that would take a long time for me to absorb: she demanded power, and so she got power. She was the center of attention because she made that the condition of her showing up anywhere. She made that life for herself. I hoped I could find ways to do that."

She went on to praise Madonna's influence on the industry, writing,  “If I could go back now, I would try to become my own parent, my own partner, my own advocate – the way I knew Madonna did,” adding, “She had endured so much sexism and bullying from the public and the industry, and had been shamed for her sexuality so many times, but she always overcame it.”

Britney Spears’ tell-all memoir, “The Woman In Me,” was officially released on Tuesday, October 24, 2023.