3 Very Important Reasons Mariah Carey Made Headlines This Week

Mariah Carey—the only woman alive allowed to hit the gym in fishnets and booties—has had one hell of a week. For three decades, the superstar singer has secured her position in the spotlight as a shining example of self-love and over-the-top luxury. Some hate her, some tolerate her, others (me) worship the holy ground she walks on. This immortal, flawless queen knows who she is, and she isn’t about to apologize for it.

Mariah Carey doesn’t need to prove herself to us, and yet she did — three times, in three days. Enjoy.

She memed herself

True love sees all beauty! On Sunday, an unlikely Meme Lord arose from the ashes of the Internet. Juxtaposing a screen cap from her 2009 film Precious with her 2005 The Emancipation of Mimi album cover, the notorious diva delivered a shocking statement on glam and beauty. The meme, of course, references Marilyn Monroe’s famous quote, in which she allegedly said, “I’m selfish, impatient, and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control, and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” The post has since racked up more than 160,000 likes, making it Carey’s most viral tweet ever.

She became the face of hostels

Mariah Carey: Grammy winner, Christmas icon, and global spokesperson for backpacker accommodations?! Hostelworld, the world’s largest hostel-booking website, somehow had enough cash flow to land Carey for their latest campaign. The concept: The World’s Most Fabulous Diva accidentally gets booked into a hostel by someone on her team. She stays, she sings a song, and she encounters the wondrous joys of luxury budget travelling. “For some reason, someone thought it would be funny to book me in a hostel. To mine and everyone’s surprise, the hostel was fabulous!” she said of the short film. “It was super clean, modern and spacious. I say give hostels a go, it could be a great choice for all you world travellers out there!”

She spoke her truth

Mariah Carey has struggled with her mental health quietly—until now. For the first time ever, the legendary artist has opened up about being diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder. In a new interview with People, Carey reveals that she was diagnosed in 2001, after being hospitalized for a public breakdown. For over a decade, she “lived in denial and isolation and constant fear” that someone would expose her illness, she said in the interview. “It was too heavy a burden to carry and I simply couldn’t do that anymore. I sought and received treatment, I put positive people around me and I got back to doing what I love — writing songs and making music.”

“I was working and working and working,” she said. “It turns out that I was experiencing a form of mania. Eventually I would just hit a wall. I guess my depressive episodes were characterized by having very low energy. I would feel so lonely and sad — even guilty that I wasn’t doing what I needed to be doing for my career.”

Media coverage plays a huge role in reducing the stigma around mental illness. Every time a celebrity speaks out about his or her struggle, it normalizes and validates the struggles that so many of us deal with. It’s always a welcome headline when someone we admire spreads the message that it’s OK to have mental illness; it doesn’t make you weak.

The post 3 Very Important Reasons Mariah Carey Made Headlines This Week appeared first on FASHION Magazine.