Mariah Carey is defending ex-husband Tommy Mottola against accusations hurled by Michael Jackson, according to MSNBC. Mottola’s current wife, Thalia Motolla, claims that Carey called the Sony music chief and told him that she’s on his side, not on Jackson’s, and also said that Motolla’s “anything but a racist,” the network reported.
Jackson has called Mottola a racist and “a devil” for allegedly under-promoting his current album Invincible. He also said Carey cried in his arms over Mottola’s treatment of her.
Carey’s spokeswoman, Cindi Berger, refutes the claim. “To the best of my knowledge, Mariah has not spoken to Mr. Mottola in several months,” she said. However, Berger did make Carey’s position quite clear. “From what I’ve heard she has told friends of hers that she is indeed standing behind him and supports him fully,” she said in a statement issued on Carey’s behalf.
“Mariah doesn’t really know how to react to Michael Jackson’s accusations. She was shocked, of course, as we all are,” she told Music Insider. “Throughout all the years she has known Tommy, she has never known him to be a racist. Mariah does not feel that he is such a person after all the support he had given her. Michael did not have Mariah’s permission or consent to use her in his battle with Sony and did not want any part of it. Mariah feels Michael is wrong and she is rather surprised that he has dragged her into this. She is very upset with him and is not behind him in this at all.
“Mariah has never directly accused Tommy of trying to ruin her career,” Berger added. “She does not hate Tommy. She hated the way he had treated her while she was signed with Sony. Mariah does not hold grudges and has decided to leave her dispute with Tommy in the past and move forward.”
Carey has been working on her album debut for Island/Def Jam with producers including Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and DJ Quik. It is expected to be released in the fall.