"I don't know her" is a phrase coined by American singer Mariah Carey in response to a circa 2003 question about her thoughts on American singer Jennifer Lopez, whom media outlets perceived as her rival at the time. Carey's reaction, in which she shakes her head and smiles while stating "I don't know her", became a popular Internet meme and GIF. Due to its subsequent use by other celebrities, Vanity Fair deemed mid-2016 "The Summer of Not Knowing".
When asked about Lopez, Carey identified herself as a singer and denied an ongoing feud. After stating "I don't know her", she employed the expression over the next two decades. Carey contends it is not an affront to Lopez because she does not know her personally; Lopez herself says they do not know each other.
Similar to the conflict instigated by the media regarding her relationship with Whitney Houston, American singer Mariah Carey's feelings toward Jennifer Lopez became a subject of gossip in the late 1990s and early 2000s. [1] Lopez began a working relationship with Carey's former husband, Tommy Mottola, in 1998. [2] The apparent feud escalated in 2001 after a sampling controversy involving Carey's song "Loverboy" (2001) and Lopez's "I'm Real" (2001). [3] [a] Following these events, Carey responded to Lopez's comments about sleeping eight hours per night in a 2001 interview with journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis: "If I had the luxury of not actually having to sing my own songs I'd do that too." [7] During an appearance on Larry King Live in 2002, Carey remarked: "There are rivalries, but I don't think she has anything to do with me. I mean, my whole thing is singing, writing songs ... Her thing is something different". [8]
Around 2003, Carey was interviewed by the German television program taff . Upon being asked about Beyoncé, Carey remarked that she loved her as an artist. After she was questioned about Lopez, Carey stated, "I don't know her," while smiling and shaking her head. The interview was uploaded on YouTube in 2008 and her "I don't know her" comment began circulating as a GIF on Internet forums. [9] It became prevalent on Twitter and Tumblr in the 2010s. [10] By 2014, the "I don't know her" GIF was often used as a reaction on the internet. [11] It became one of the most popular Internet memes in history by 2018. [12]
Carey used the phrase to address Lopez throughout its rise in popularity as she was questioned about the subject during interviews. [13] She reprised it with MTV in 2005 ("I don't even know her. We kind of just said hello once or twice"), [14] during a 2009 radio discussion ("I don't know the woman"), a 2016 TMZ exchange ("I still don't know her"), and a 2018 Watch What Happens Live appearance ("I don't know her. What am I supposed to say?"). [9] While discussing the sampling controversy in her 2020 memoir The Meaning of Mariah Carey , she described Lopez as a "female entertainer on [Sony] (whom I don't know)". [15] Carey has used the phrase toward other singers such as Demi Lovato. [16] After the latter said she was rude to Lopez, Carey responded, "I don't know her either." [17]
Carey contends that the phrase is not an insult but rather an honest response because she does not know Lopez personally. [18] In 2014, Lopez said, "I don't have a feud against [Carey] at all. I know from back in the day, I’ve read things that she's said about me that were not the greatest, but we have never met. Like, we don't know each other." [19] During a 2016 interview, Lopez said Carey had forgotten that they have met on many occasions. [18]
Many writers considered Carey's use of the phrase an insult. [20] Shinan Govani said it was "succinctly withering, if not true" in the Toronto Star . [21] Who? Weekly podcasters Lindsey Weber and Bobby Finger described it as an example of shade, Vogue 's Alex Kessler said it was a snub, and CNN's Chloe Melas called it a diss. [22] Kristin Iversen thought it was an example of passive-aggressive behavior in Nylon . [23] Based on the subsequent comments from Carey and Lopez, Stephanie Marcus of HuffPost said it "could have been less of a diss than we all assumed". [24]
The phrase's purpose in other contexts received analysis. According to scholars Mireille Lalancette and Tamara A. Small, it "is used when another person is so irrelevant you pretend to not know them when you clearly do". [25] The Guardian 's Issy Sampson and African American studies professor Alexander G. Weheliye considered "I don't know her" a means of insulting someone implicitly. [26] Michelle Ruiz wrote in Vogue: "Now there is no more savage burn in Hollywood, no sharper way to declare yourself so utterly above it all, than to publicly pretend you exist in a world where your very famous counterpart does not." [27] Kenzie Bryant of Vanity Fair thought it can be misinterpreted when used as a neutral no comment response. [28]
The phrase has received comparisons to subsequent remarks by other public figures: "Great gowns. Beautiful gowns" (Aretha Franklin on Taylor Swift), [21] "I don't know her" (Andy Cohen on Kathy Griffin), [29] "I don't know the other one, but Cardi is my girl" (Lil' Kim on Nicki Minaj), [30] "Sorry to this man" (Keke Palmer on Dick Cheney), [31] "Ah, what's, sorry, what's your name?" (Lidia Thorpe on Pauline Hanson), [32] "I actually don't know what Free Guy is" (Gerard Butler on Ryan Reynolds), [33] "We don't know each other" (Kelly Clarkson on Carrie Underwood), [34] and LeBron James being unable to name the Vegas Golden Knights. [35] Due to the number of celebrities repeating variations at the time, Vanity Fair labeled mid-2016 "The Summer of Not Knowing". [36]
"I don't know her" been cited in political commentary about US president Donald Trump. HuffPost 's Marina Fang likened Trump's comments about his relationships with lawyers Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort to the phrase. [37] Matt Moen of Paper thought Trump saying "I don't know her" regarding conservative pundit Ann Coulter was also derivative. [38] Referring to his denial of knowing mobster Felix Sater, commentator Symone Sanders deemed Trump "the Mariah Carey of politics ... He is very good at pretending he doesn't know someone when it suits him". [39] After Trump said he never spoke with US ambassador Gordon Sondland, MSNBC host Ari Melber described him as employing the "Mariah Carey defense". [40]
"I don't know her" has been viewed as contributing to Carey's public image. [41] Writers for Billboard and Elle ranked it as one of the most iconic moments of her career. [42] Journalist Marina Hyde called it Carey's most famous quote, [43] Paper's Katherine Gillespie considered it her catchphrase, [44] and HuffPost 's Cody Delbyck deemed it her doctrine. [29] In The Guardian, Alim Kheraj said the remark "has now become something she leans into with camp abandon". [45] Sandra Miller of The A.V. Club and Niela Orr of The Baffler suggested it represents a shift in Carey's persona to one that embraced social media. [46] The Independent writer Louis Staples said "Carey's GIF-friendly moments have helped her make the transition from the era of CDs to the online landscape". [47]
Writers thought the phrase contributed to an image of Carey as a diva. [48] Los Angeles Times contributor Rich Juzwiak judged it as "the definitive meme of diva shade". [49] Musicologist Lily E. Hirsch argued that the popular reaction to "I don't know her" made this diva image imbued with sexism and racism. [50] Writing in The Wall Street Journal , Emily Lordi said Carey's use of the phrase shows how the diva is not necessarily a pro-feminist figure. [51] Natalie Reilly of The Sydney Morning Herald said "such shade is all part of the Mariah Carey mystique." [52] Ben Kaye of Consequence and Daniel Welsh of HuffPost UK said "I don't know her" contributed to Carey owning the title "Queen of Shade". [53] [54]
"I don't know her" has been considered an influence on pop culture. Abby Ohlheiser ranked the meme at number two on The Washington Post 's list of the most important viral reactions on the Internet since 2000. [36] Writers at The A.V. Club grouped it among the 100 most memorable parts of internet culture in the 2010s. [55] "No other response has infiltrated the pop culture lexicon deeper" according to Ernest Macias of Entertainment Weekly . [56] The phrase is used within the queer community [57] and inspired "I don't know her"-themed club nights, clothing, [58] and artwork. [59]
Jennifer Lynn Lopez, also known by her nickname J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential Latin entertainers of her time, credited with breaking barriers for Latino Americans in Hollywood and helping propel the Latin pop movement in music. She is also noted for her impact on popular culture through fashion, branding, and shifting mainstream beauty standards.
Mariah Carey is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Songbird Supreme" by Guinness World Records, Carey is known for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whistle register. An influential figure in music, she was ranked as the fifth greatest singer of all time by Rolling Stone in 2023.
Diva is the Latin word for a goddess. Diva is a name from Roman mythology, and is associated with the nouns divus, diva, which means god, goddess, and the adjective divinius, which means divine or heavenly. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of diva is closely related to that of prima donna. Diva can also refer to a person, especially one in show business, with a reputation for being temperamental or demanding.
Mariah Carey is the debut studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey, released on June 12, 1990, by Columbia Records. Its music incorporates a range of contemporary genres with a mix of slow ballads and up-tempo tracks. Originally, Carey wrote four songs with Ben Margulies, which solely constituted her demo tape. After Carey was signed to Columbia, all four songs, after being altered and partially re-recorded, made the final cut for the album. Aside from Margulies, Carey worked with a range of professional writers and producers, all of whom were hired by Columbia CEO, Tommy Mottola. Mariah Carey featured production and writing from Rhett Lawrence, Ric Wake and Narada Michael Walden, all of whom were top record producers at the time. Together with Carey, they conceived the album and reconstructed her original demo tape.
Daydream is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released on September 26, 1995, by Columbia Records. The follow-up to her internationally successful studio album Music Box (1993), and the holiday album Merry Christmas (1994), Daydream differed from her previous releases by leaning increasingly towards urban music. Throughout the project, Carey collaborated with Walter Afanasieff, with whom she wrote and produced most of her previous albums. With Daydream, Carey took more control over the musical direction as well as the album's composition. Carey considered the album to be the beginning of her musical and vocal transition, a change that would become more evident in her sixth studio album Butterfly (1997). During the album's production, Carey endured many creative differences with her label and then-husband Tommy Mottola. On Daydream, Carey collaborated with Jermaine Dupri, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and R&B group Boyz II Men. With Afanasieff's assistance and the addition of a few contemporary producers, she was able to make a subtle transition into the contemporary R&B market, after previously only pursuing pop, adult contemporary and traditional R&B music.
"Loverboy" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released on June 19, 2001, by Virgin Records America as the lead single from her eighth studio album Glitter, the soundtrack to the 2001 film of the same name. Written and produced by Carey, Larry Blackmon, Thomas Jenkins and Clark Kent, "Loverboy" is built around a sample from "Candy" by the funk band Cameo, who are also featured on the track. Lyrically, the song finds Carey fantasizing about her loverboy, a man that will fulfill her physical and sexual desires. The recording was accompanied by an official remix, titled "Loverboy Remix", featuring guest artists Ludacris, Da Brat, Shawnna and Twenty II.
American singer Mariah Carey has released 88 official singles, 22 promotional singles, and has made 30 guest appearances. Her self-titled debut album in 1990 yielded four number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, the first being "Vision of Love", a song credited with revolutionizing the usage of distinguished vocal stylings, predominantly the practice of melisma, and effectively influencing virtually every female R&B performer since the 1990s. Subsequent singles "Emotions" (1991) and Carey's cover of the Jackson 5 track "I'll Be There" (1992) continued the singer's streak of US number-one singles, with the latter becoming her fourth chart-topper in Canada and first in the Netherlands. With the release of Carey's third studio album, Music Box (1993), the singer's international popularity surged upon release of "Hero" and the album's third single, her cover of Harry Nilsson's "Without You", which became the singer's first number-one single in several countries across Europe.
"All I Want for Christmas Is You" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her fourth studio album and first holiday album, Merry Christmas (1994). She wrote and produced the song with Walter Afanasieff. It was released as the lead single from the album on October 29, 1994, by Columbia Records. The track is an uptempo love song that includes bell chimes, backing vocals, and synthesizers. It has received critical acclaim, with The New Yorker describing it as "one of the few worthy modern additions to the holiday canon". The song has become a Christmas standard, with a significant rise in popularity every December.
"Always Be My Baby" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her fifth studio album, Daydream (1995). Written by Carey, Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal, and produced by Carey and Dupri, It was released by Columbia Records on February 20, 1996, as the album's third single in the United States and fourth single internationally. A midtempo pop and R&B ballad, "Always Be My Baby" describes the attachment the singer feels towards an estranged lover, while confidently asserting that they will eventually reunite. Described by critics as both a love song and a breakup song, its composition is characterized by piano keyboards, drums, acoustic guitars, and layered background vocals.
Glitter is the soundtrack to the 2001 film of the same title and the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released in the United States on September 11, 2001 by Virgin Records. Mixing dance-pop, funk, hip hop and R&B, the album was a departure from Carey's previous releases, focusing heavily on a 80's post-disco sound to accompany the film which was set in 1983. The singer collaborated with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and DJ Clue, who also co-produced the album. The album features several musical acts such as Eric Benét, Ludacris, Da Brat, Busta Rhymes, Fabolous, and Ja Rule.
J.Lo is the second studio album by American singer Jennifer Lopez, released on January 16, 2001, by Epic Records. Lopez began recording the album in April 2000, enlisting producers such as Cory Rooney, Troy Oliver, Dan Shea and Sean Combs, all of whom she had worked with on her debut album On the 6 (1999). The album's title refers to the nickname given to her by fans, with Lopez describing it as an homage to her supporters. Drawing from her own experiences, Lopez included more personal songs on this album, which deals with themes of relationships, empowerment and sex. J.Lo is a primarily dance-pop, Latin and R&B album which encompasses Latin pop, retro and contemporary pop.
"I'm Real" is the name of two songs recorded by American actress and singer Jennifer Lopez, both primarily for her second studio album, J.Lo (2001). The original song was released as the album's third single; Ja Rule of Murder Inc. Records wrote and was featured on a newly-written song with completely different lyrics and production titled "I'm Real (Murder Remix)", which was featured on a re-issue of J.Lo in July 2001, on Lopez's remix album, J to tha L–O! The Remixes (2002), and on Ja Rule's third studio album, Pain Is Love (2001).
"I Want to Know What Love Is" is a power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner. It was released in November 1984 as the love theme and lead single from their fifth album, Agent Provocateur. The song reached number one on both the United Kingdom singles chart and the United States Billboard Hot 100 and is the group's biggest hit to date.
American R&B singer Mariah Carey has had an extensive career in film and television throughout her career, in addition to "hundreds of music videos, a dozen or so feature films, and several TV guest-appearances". After topping charts, filming and directing multiple music videos for well-acclaimed songs such as "Vision of Love" and "Fantasy" throughout the 1990s, Carey made her big-screen debut in the rom-com, The Bachelor (1999). In 2001, Carey starred in Glitter which followed the story of Billie Frank, a young woman rising to fame as a pop-star, and was released on September 21, 2001. It was a major commercial failure and critical flop being ranked number 21 on IMDb's Bottom 100 Movies of All Time.
"I'll Be Lovin' U Long Time" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey for her eleventh studio album E=MC² (2008). It was produced by Carey, Aldrin Davis, who wrote it alongside Crystal Johnson and Clifford Harris. As the song's hook and instrumentation is derived from sampling DeBarge's "Stay with Me", Mark DeBarge and Etterlene Jordan also share songwriting credits. Lyrically, the song demonstrates the lengths the protagonist will go for her lover. It was released as the third single from E=MC² on July 1, 2008, by Island Records; its remix featuring T.I. was simultaneously released.
"Obsessed" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey from her twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel (2009). The song was written and produced by Carey, Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, and was released as the album's lead single on June 16, 2009, by Island Records. The song draws musical influences from contemporary R&B and hip hop, and is built around a thumping bassline. Additionally, the song is accentuated by hand claps, while Carey's voice is processed with Auto-Tune. Lyrically, the song describes Carey's dilemma regarding constant claims of a prior relationship from rapper Eminem, although he is not specifically mentioned.
Mariah Paris Balenciaga, also simply known as Mariah or Mariah Balenciaga, is the stage name of Elijah A. Kelly, an American drag queen, ball performer, and television personality, best known for competing on the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race (2011) and the fifth season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (2020). Since appearing on the show, she has been featured in a number of web series produced by World of Wonder, such as Wait, What?, Transformations, and Fashion Photo RuView. Balenciaga released her first single, "Mug 4 Dayz", on November 19, 2013.
Caution World Tour was the eleventh concert tour by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, in support of her fifteenth studio album, Caution. The tour consisted of 35 dates, including shows in North America, Europe and the Caribbean, at a mix of small and mid-size venues and arenas.
The Meaning of Mariah Carey is a memoir by Mariah Carey, released on September 29, 2020. It was written with Michaela Angela Davis, and was published by Andy Cohen Books, an imprint of Henry Holt, as well as in an audiobook format read by Carey herself on Audible. The book navigates the complex racial, social, cultural and familial tensions associated with Carey's upbringing as a biracial woman in Long Island, New York. This is framed alongside first-hand descriptions of the singer's personal and professional triumphs and struggles, and is interspersed with fragments of Carey's songwriting output.
Throughout her career, American singer Mariah Carey has received recognition as a cultural and public figure. Her public image has undergone transformations, subsequently receiving press coverage.