Mariah Carey Expresses Gratitude to Muni Long and Tori Kelly for Their Viral Performances

Mariah Carey has shared how she feels about Muni Long and Tori Kelly‘s tributary performances to her at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards.

Carey made headlines on Wednesday after her reactions to Long and Kelly’s performances went viral, with some dubbing her the “meme queen.”

Some fans also speculated that the pop diva’s response might have indicated her disapproval of the performances by both women. Nevertheless, with her recent social media post, she has put an end to any uncertainties.

Carey has nothing but love and gratitude for Long and Kelly, who made tributary performances in her honor at the just-concluded iHeartRadio Awards.

Taking to her Instagram Story, Carey shared a photo of herself, Long, and Kelly looking dashing in their outfits for the award night.

In her post’s caption, she shared her appreciation for the women’s tribute to her. She wrote, “So grateful for these two beautiful, incredibly talented, kind musicians who brought me so much joy with their tribute performances at the @iheartradio awards.”

She concluded, “I love and appreciate you so much!!!”

Fans took turns sharing their thoughts on Carey’s appreciation post to Long and Kelly after The Shade Room reposted it.

Following the incident that sparked attention online, many fans were pleased to see Carey addressing the situation and advising people to refrain from assuming that she did not enjoy the performances.

One fan wrote, “Cause y’all want her to be mean so bad now y’all can hush! You can tell Mariah enjoyed her tribute.”

Another person wrote, “Mariah said she gonna clear that up real quick.”

A third person noted that Carey wasn’t displeased with the performances but the lighting. They explained, “You can definitely tell it was the lighting that was pissing her off.”

A fourth fan added, “She looks taken by the moment, honored and genuinely full of gratitude.”

Carey’s post comes after she went viral for her reaction to Kelly and Long’s performance.

The “Without You” singer, who was presented with the Icon Award at the awards ceremony, watched as Long and Kelly performed some of her biggest hits.

In one viral clip, Carey slowly turned her head and gave a serious side-eye expression as Long sang “We Belong Together.”

Carey also had a similar expression to Long’s performance of “Always Be My Baby” as she seemingly looked unimpressed.

Videos of Carey’s apparent dislike of Long and Kelly’s performance quickly dominated social media, and many netizens quickly turned the situation into a meme.

One X user wrote, “This gif of Mariah Carey will go down in history,” while another person named her the “meme queen.”

Another fan joked, “She was wondering why they didn’t book Ariana [Grande].”

However, despite the viral moment, Carey totally enjoyed Long and Kelly’s performances.

Videos also showed her smiling and swaying from side to side as the women belted out lyrics from many of her chart-topping classics.

As the reactions to the viral moments continued, Long stepped in to clarify the situation and revealed that Mariah Carey was pleased with her performance.

The Shade Room reposted a clip of the 36-year-old responding to her critics. She said, “The people that’s got a lot to say, you don’t understand how this paying homage and having respect for people…”

The “Made for Me” singer continued, “She asked me to do it. You thought I chose to get on TV and sing a Mariah Carey song? You thought that was my choice? Why would I do that? Nobody can sing Mariah’s songs like Mariah. Nobody. I did my best, and that’s all I can do.”

Long also revealed that she had “footage” of Carey praising her performance but noted that she wouldn’t be posting it because the icon’s “lighting wasn’t right. And I’m not gonna do that to my girl. You know how Ms. Carey is about her lighting.”

The Grammy Award winner added, “She told me I did a great job. She appreciated it. And that’s it. Once again, if she pushed me down the stairs if she told me she hated it, I would say thank you. That’s what I would say.”

Long also thanked her supporters for uplifting and loving her through everything.