‘I really was’

Mariah Carey performs at Times Square on New Year’s Eve (T
 (Taylor Hill/FilmMagic)

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There are few memes as popular as Mariah Carey infamously saying “I don’t know her” in response to German paparazzi asking about her opinion on Jennifer Lopez.

Despite appearing to pretend not to know Lopez, Carey has since said the moment was not intended to be “shade” against the Grammy-nominee.

“I really was trying to say something nice or say nothing at all,” she told Pitchfork. “I really was.”

The two pop singers had apparently been feuding for a year when Carey uttered the iconic line in the early 2000s, record producer Irv Gotti later claiming their fallout began when Carey heard a sample from her unreleased track “Loveboy” on Lopez’s single “I’m Real”.

Carey has spoken about the moment numerous times over the years, telling TMZ back in 2016: “I still don’t know her!”

Appearing on Watch What Happens Live that same year, Carey was asked once again about the comment. “That was so long ago, I can’t believe people still make such a big deal about it.”

Carey confirmed that she did not know the “Jenny from the Block” singer personally, which contrasts with Lopez’s former claims that they had met “many times”.

“I don’t know her. What am I supposed to say? I’m not gonna put on a thing like ‘oh we’re all Hollywood, let’s all pretend we’re best friends because we’re in that land.”