Mariah Carey was sued by her sister, Alison A. Carey, in New York court over the content of the singer’s recent memories, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey”, which describes a controversial and deeply distant relationship between the superstar and her eight years . older brother.
Alison Carey’s lawsuit, opened on Monday to the New York County Supreme Court, calls for a minimum of $ 1.25 million for “the imposition of immense emotional anguish caused by ruthless, cruel, vindictive, contemptible and public humiliation. totally unnecessary of the elderly defendant already deeply damaged sister. “
The lawsuit says Carey “cruelly dismisses the plaintiff as her ‘ex’ sister. But instead of saying nothing more, the defendant used his book to humiliate and embarrass the plaintiff, as stories about the memories appeared in newspapers around the world, on TV and on the Internet, most of them with repeating headlines. the defendant’s allegations – all published without giving the plaintiff any opportunity to respond. “
In addition, he said the superstar “publicly acknowledged the complainant’s vulnerability. In stories published several weeks before the release of his book, the defendant was quoted as saying that the author is ‘damaged’ and ‘very broken’. But despite this, the defendant used his public figure status to attack his penniless sister, generating sensational headlines describing his sinister claims to promote his book sales. The defendant’s cruel and outrageous accusations devastated the plaintiff. Already struggling with the unspeakable trauma of her childhood and having her own children abandon her, she has become gravely depressed and unusually tearful since the publication of the defendant’s book and now struggles, after a long clean run, with alcohol abuse. “
The singer’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Alison Carey declined to comment further than what is in her lawsuit.
The document says that Alison sent a settlement offer to the singer’s lawyers by registered letter on January 8, but received no response.
In “The Meaning of Mariah Carey,” the memoirist reports growing up neglected as the daughter of divorced parents, often ridiculed for her interracial heritage and subject to witnessing her brother’s anger, before moving on to a chapter that focuses on their relationship. with his sister, “Dandelion Tea”.
Carey has some words of sympathy or admiration for her sister, describing her as “deeply wounded” and “the most brilliant and broken person I have ever met”, but the chapter mainly explores how she was supposedly exposed to drugs or older men because of her older sister, when Mariah was 12 and Alison 20, along with a physically debilitating encounter.
“Older sisters should protect her, not pimp her,” wrote Carey at one point, claiming that Alison left her in the company of a boyfriend who attacked her when they were alone.
She also describes an apparently playful moment that became terrible when “she threw boiling tea at me … my back was dotted with third degree burns. I couldn’t recognize him as mine ”, writes the singer. “She burned my back and my confidence. Any hope that I could help to the point of having an older sister has become scorched earth. Mariah later adds: “Alison burned me in many ways and more times than I can count … The promise of her life was wasted on a tragic series of cheap bargains, instead of being redeemed through the hard work of a lifetime recovery and reconstruction. “
In the closing passages of the chapter, Carey writes: “Over the years, both my sister and brother have put me in the crosshairs, sold lies to any gossip newspaper or garbage website that they buy or listen to. They’ve been attacking me for decades. But when I was 12, my sister drugged me with Valium, offered me a pink nail full of cocaine, caused me third-degree burns and tried to sell me for a pimp. Something about me was trapped by all that trauma. That’s why I always say, ‘I am forever twelve years old.’ “
Alison Carey’s lawsuit says she disputes the book’s claims and claims that her sister “has not provided evidence to substantiate these serious allegations.”
One thing the two sisters agree on is that their initial family life was very unhappy, although the process contains a more sinister claim about their upbringing than anything in the book. The lawsuit says Mariah “made these outrageous claims knowing that (Alison) is deeply and permanently damaged as a result of being forced by the defendant’s and plaintiff’s mother, when she was a preteen, to attend a terrible satanic cult in the middle of the night. meetings that included ritual sacrifice and sexual activity. ”The document states that, as a result, Alison suffers from PTSD, anxiety and depression, and also faces serious health problems.
Alison Carey is representing herself in legal action.
Released in late September, “The Meaning of Mariah Carey” debuted at number one on the New York Times list of nonfiction bestsellers in early October. The singer said in interviews that she wants the memories to be adapted for a feature film or limited series.