Mariah: Playing From Both Sides of 'Race Card' Deck?

By
We may earn a commission from links on this page.

Clutch magazine's Erica Buddington scrutinizes the pop diva's conduct in the wake of her feud with fellow American Idol judge Nicki Minaj.

I've been taking in the feud between Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, both new judges on American Idol, over the last few days. After seeing the TMZ footage, I immediately took to my Twitter to blast the brightly colored pixie for dissing the more experienced diva. Yet, we only see what we're allowed. Once the facts begun to roll in, predominately anti-Nicki, my irritation with Mariah's sympathy card grew.

After hearing that Mariah was going to "hire extra security" and that Nicki's behavior made her emotionally uncomfortable, I had to stifle the erupting laughter inside of me. Roman? Pink nails, Barbie cars, overt sex appeal, give-em'-whiplash Nicki? I was almost determined to delve into Google to make sure there wasn't another female emcee with the same name.

Over the last few days Mariah's been playing her "frightened white girl in an urban neighborhood" side of the race card. We're told that Mariah made a disrespectful comment about a contestant before the debate manifested, but all we're privy to in the footage is the explosion of Minaj and the calm of Mariah. In a phone conversation with Barbara Walters, her sudden fairytale godmother, Mariah expresses a victimized concern — seemingly the innocent Mariah attacked by Nicki's "otherness." …

Read Erica Buddington's entire piece at Clutch magazine.

The Root aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.

Advertisement