Mariah Carey has insisted she does not refer to herself as the “Queen of Christmas”.
The music superstar is often dubbed the “Queen of Christmas” thanks to her affinity for the holiday and her popular festive tune All I Want for Christmas Is You.
However, during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday, Mariah clarified that is not a title she gave herself.
“First of all, may I say I never called myself the ‘Queen of Christmas.’ Can we please be clear on that… Others have said ‘the self-proclaimed Queen of Christmas’. Really, I’m going to do that?” she insisted. “They can look up every interview I’ve ever done, and, not to get super religious, but I think like if anybody would be ‘Queen of Christmas’ that would be (Jesus Christ’s mother) Mary.”
Although she did not give herself the title, Mariah tried to trademark the phrase to be used on a range of merchandise. However, her application was rejected in November following opposition from festive singer Elizabeth Chan.
Elsewhere in the interview, the We Belong Together hitmaker explained that she waits for the holiday season all year long because she’s able to give her children – 11-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe – the Christmas she never had growing up.
“I just happen to actually really love Christmas,” she said. “Because I grew up and had kind of a tough childhood and I always wanted Christmas to be perfect and it never was… so I went through that and now I wait for it all year long. So it’s actually a real thing.”
Mariah appeared on the show to promote her holiday special, Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas To All, which will air in the U.S. on 20 December.