Mariah Carey Calls for an End to Pitting Women Against Each Other in the Music Industry

The songstress recalled the positive experiences she had working with Whitney Houston and Missy Elliott.

By Samantha Schnurr Oct 08, 2019 4:28 PMTags
Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey memoir bombshellsKevin Mazur/WireImage

Women belong together, not against each other—just ask Mariah Carey

The five-time Grammy-winning songstress is no stranger to the music industry and its faults. In a new interview with Variety, the iconic vocalist spoke up about one of the things she believes has to change the most in the business: pitting women against each other. As an example, she referenced the late Whitney Houston, who Carey said the industry pitted her against. 

"We didn't know each other and she was one of the greatest of all time," the star declared, noting they eventually worked together on the 1998 Oscar-winning duet, "When You Believe."

"We had the best time working together," Carey recalled. "It was female camaraderie. We both got it. We were like, She doesn't hate me. We're actually having this great time together and laughing and this is more fun than I have working alone ever."

The star added, "I think camaraderie with women that you respect is a huge deal."

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Tyler Henry Makes Contact With the Late Whitney Houston

The star also has fond memories of working with Missy Elliott on the Butterfly album. "I remember one of the sessions was with Missy Elliott. We just had the best time working together and writing together," she described. 

Nowadays, the famous songwriter is trying to have more of those experiences. "I love writing with other women and it's something that is a newer thing for me," she told Variety. "People like Bibi Bourelly or Priscilla Renea, like new, young writers, I really enjoy working with because it's a different energy and they may or may not have been inspired by me and I thrive on it."

After all, she knows what it's like to not have a female ally. "My perspective on this exact moment that we're having with female empowerment is really interesting because I was a very young girl when I got signed to my first record deal and I was surrounded by super, super uber-powerful people—mainly men, like predominantly men. That's what I fell into and I didn't have a powerful woman by my side to say, 'No, you're not paying for all this. You're not doing that. They're trying to take advantage of you here. They're doing that.'"