Mariah Carey vs. Jennifer Lopez: The Real Story Behind a Pop Diva Rivalry

Look, the Mariah Carey vs. Jennifer Lopez thing has lived so long online it might qualify for Social Security. Magazine shade, label politics, a sample switcheroo, a texting uproar, and one immortal line: it’s all in here. Let’s stack the facts, clean up the timeline, and separate what was actually said from the myth-making.

Where this allegedly started

According to In Touch Weekly, Mariah talked about Lopez in the May 1999 issue of Mirabella. The way the magazine framed it, Mariah essentially labeled JLo a dancer who lip-synced Selena’s vocals in the biopic and suggested they weren’t in the same lane as artists. That was the opening flicker.

The line that became the brand

Early 2000s, Mariah was asked to give thoughts on other pop stars. She loudly praised Beyonce. When it came to Lopez, she dropped three words that would follow her like a chorus:

"I don’t know her."

It snowballed into a meme, and she kept leaning into it over the years. In 2005, she told MTV she didn’t even know Lopez and that they’d only said hello once or twice. In 2009 on radio, it was "I don’t know the woman." In 2016, TMZ? "I still don’t know her." On Watch What Happens Live, she doubled down: "I don’t know her. Like, what am I supposed to say?" The internet did the rest.

The behind-the-scenes label drama (this is the messy part)

Mariah married Sony Music boss Tommy Mottola in 1993 and divorced in 1998. She’s been open about how toxic that relationship was and has said the issues didn’t end with the divorce. In her memoir, she claimed Mottola tried to undermine her and even had "spies" tracking her moves. The clearest example: she wanted to sample Yellow Magic Orchestra’s 'Firecracker' for 'Loverboy.' Shortly after word got out, another Sony artist released a track using that same sample: Jennifer Lopez’s 'I’m Real,' which hit just before 'Loverboy.' Mariah pivoted and swapped in Cameo’s 'Candy' instead.

"After hearing my new song, using the same sample I used, Sony rushed to make a single for another female entertainer on their label (whom I don’t know)."

That’s an unusually pointed parenthetical, even by diva standards.

Public flashpoints that kept the story alive

In 2015, cameras caught Lopez looking at her phone during Mariah’s Billboard Music Awards performance. The internet decided that meant total disregard. Lopez later clarified that she watched most of it and glanced down for a second, which, of course, became the screenshot seen round the world.

The tabloid fuel

Last year, while Lopez’s personal life was in the headlines and her tour buzz hit turbulence, In Touch reported that a source claimed Mariah was thrilled about Lopez’s ticket woes and routinely called her overrated and phony. That’s tabloid talk, but it added fresh oxygen.

Lopez’s side of it

On Watch What Happens Live in 2014, Lopez said she’d always heard there was a feud, but she didn’t have an issue with Mariah, would love to meet her, and has always thought she was incredibly talented. Later, responding to the awards-show texting flap, she said the pile-on wasn’t fair. And on The Wendy Williams Show, she called Mariah "forgetful" and said they’d met many times. So depending on the year, it’s either two ships passing or two ships that have docked repeatedly.

The meme economy

Mariah clearly knows the 'I don’t know her' line has a life of its own — she even winked at it in her memoir with that '(whom I don’t know)' aside. And people keep feeding it: a December 3, 2025 tweet went viral saying "Mariah’s obsession with JLO needs to be studied like did this woman do to her," which is pretty much the modern version of passing notes in class.

So, is there actually a feud?

There’s decades of smoke: the Mirabella comments, the 'Firecracker' sample detour, the awards-show phone moment, and the running 'I don’t know her' bit. Lopez, for her part, keeps insisting there’s no real beef and even throws in compliments. It might be old label politics and a meme doing what memes do. Either way, both have played their parts with a remarkable amount of poise for something that’s basically pop’s longest-running eye-roll.

Quick timeline, because this saga is long

• 1993: Mariah marries Sony chief Tommy Mottola.
• 1998: Mariah and Mottola divorce.
• May 1999: Per In Touch, Mirabella quotes Mariah shading JLo as a dancer who lip-synced in Selena and saying they aren’t in the same category.
• Early 2000s: Mariah praises Beyonce in an interview; when asked about Lopez, she says "I don’t know her," and a meme is born.
• 2001: Mariah targets Yellow Magic Orchestra’s 'Firecracker' for 'Loverboy.' JLo’s 'I’m Real' lands with that sample first; Mariah switches to Cameo’s 'Candy.'
• 2005: Mariah to MTV: "I don’t even know her. We kind of just said hello once or twice."
• 2009: On radio, Mariah: "I don’t know the woman."
• 2014: JLo on WWHL says there’s no feud, praises Mariah, says she’d love to meet her.
• 2015: JLo is filmed texting during Mariah’s Billboard Music Awards performance; later says she watched most of it and looked down briefly.
• 2016: Mariah to TMZ: "I still don’t know her." On WWHL: "I don’t know her. Like, what am I supposed to say?"
• Later: JLo on Wendy Williams calls Mariah "forgetful," adds "We’ve met many times!"
• Last year: In Touch source claims Mariah is thrilled about JLo’s ticket slump and calls her overrated and phony.
• Dec. 3, 2025: Tweet goes viral: "Mariah’s obsession with JLO needs to be studied..."