Mariah Carey has come under intense scrutiny following her performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan.
The 55-year-old singer appeared to lip-sync during her rendition of the Italian classic Volare, prompting widespread criticism on social media.
Ms Carey arrived at the San Siro stadium wearing a flowing white dress for the start of the 25th Olympic Winter Games.
Viewers were quick to point out moments when her lips appeared out of sync with the audio, and they claimed she put little effort into reaching her signature high notes
Mariah Carey was called out for lip syncing
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One viewer asked bluntly “Why is Mariah Carey there?”. Another viewer jokingly branded her a “lip-syncing gold medalist.”
A third critic posted on X: “Mariah Carey giving us there what must be one of the worst mime jobs in history at the #WinterOlympics #OpeningCeremony… dreadful…” (sic).
The backlash continued, with one viewer posting: “It’s 2026, and folk are still paying Mariah fooling Carey to show up and mime??”
Another wrote: “Disappointing to see #MariahCarey miming at the #WinterOlympics opening ceremony,” (sic).
Mariah Carey performed at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Milan
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Some critics went further, mocking her for lack of effort and apparent stage stiffness.
“The worst part is that Mariah Carey isn’t even trying to hide the fact she’s lip syncing,” one user posted on X, while another added: “Witnessing Mariah Carey at the #Olympics2026 Opening Ceremony…she is stiff, lip syncing and looks like she’s reading off a teleprompter,” (sic).
Fans of the pop icon, however, rushed to her defense.
“I was happy to see Mariah Carey in the opening Olympic ceremonies. She looked beautiful and she sang beautifully,” one fan penned on X.
The opening ceremony was themed around ‘Harmony’
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Another praised her performance, saying: “Mariah Carey opened the Winter Olympics singing ‘Nothing Is Impossible’ and looked like an absolute GODDESS!!”
The 25th Olympic Winter Games are being held across multiple northern Italian venues, including Cortina d’Ampezzo, Livigno, and Predazzo.
The All I Want For Christmas singer performed alongside opera legend Andrea Bocelli and other Italian artists.
Ms Carey performed wearing a sparkling white gown and over $15 million (£11 million) worth of diamonds, including a 185-carat Levuma necklace and matching earrings and bracelet.
The ceremony, themed around harmony, featured athletes from 93 nations parading across four venues, with Team GB represented by bobsleigh pilot Brad Hall and ice dancer Lilah Fear as flagbearers.
The Olympic rings were spectacularly revealed in the sky above the stadium, accompanied by fireworks and glowing wristbands among the audience.
Celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Jeff Goldblum, and Charlize Theron were also present, while racing legend Valentino Rossi drove a tram for the president of Italy.
The controversy has reignited debates over Carey’s live singing, which has been called into question on several previous occasions,
Many prominent political figures were spotted at the Opening Ceremony
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Other incidents include the 2025 MTV VMAs and BET Awards, where social media labelled her performances “robotic” and overly reliant on playback, and the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, where she was accused of miming All I Want for Christmas Is You while using a teleprompter.
Perhaps her most infamous mishap came during the 2016 Times Square New Year’s Eve celebration, when her in-ear monitors failed and she was forced to stop singing mid-performance.
Earlier incidents include missing cues during a 2015 performance of Fantasy and vocal inconsistencies during her 2014 Japan tour for The Elusive Chanteuse Show.
