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Diva Mariah Carey has been roasted online after being spotted reading phonetic Italian lyrics from a teleprompter during her Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony performance.
Eagle-eyed viewers caught the singer glancing at the words to Nel Blu, dipinto di Blu, also known as Volare during the extravagant showcase at Milan’s SanSiro Stadium at the weekend, the Daily Mail reported.
Footage shot by attendees showed the Hero singer, dressed in a dazzling floor-length, sequinned ivory gown with an accompanying boa, carefully singing along to phonetically spelt lines.
“Ay-een-comb-een-chah-voh, voh-lah-reh, nell chay-lo, een-fee-nee-toe,” one section read.
Released in 1958, the Eurovision and Grammy award-winning song Nel Blu, dipinto di Blu, is an iconic anthem about the freedom being in love brings.
However, puzzled online viewers questioned why Carey, who is not Italian, was selected to perform it.
“I love Mariah but they should have had one of our own singing this like Andrea Bocelli,” one wrote, adding that the song had “deep meaning” for Italians.
“I feel bad. Why did they make her sing an Italian song anyways she did her best,” wrote another.
The Express Tribune reported viewers complained her pronunciation was uncertain and distracting, saying it undermined the gravitas of the ceremony, which had been envisioned as a celebration of Italian culture.
Mariah Carey was roasted online for reading phonetically spelled Italian lyrics to Nel blu, dipinto di blu.
Viewers also noted the 56-year-old’s lack of energy during the performance, as she segued into Nothing Is Impossible from her 2025 album Here For It All.
Multiple commenters accused the self-appointed “Queen of Christmas” of lip-syncing.
Event director Maria Laura Iascone said Carey did pre-record her songs but did not confirm whether she used the recordings on the night, according to the Guardian.
“During all the ceremonies, in order to be on the safe side, we always record,” she said.
“But this is something that is practised internationally in events with high-level broadcasting.”
Mariah Carey was accused of lip-syncing at the 2026 Winter Olympics opening ceremony.
“When was the last time Mariah Carey didn’t lip sync a performance,” one X (formerly Twitter) user asked, noting they would have preferred an artist who could have delivered a more “authentic” performance.
Another person said her obvious lip-syncing “ruined what has been a decent opening ceremony thus far”.
In a separate Carey-related controversy, Italian journalists covering the games went on strike after the ceremony, after a senior commentator made embarrassing blunders in his coverage, Indy100 reported.
RaiSport reporters announced they would protest after Paolo Petrecca welcomed viewers to Stadio Olimpico, a sporting venue in Rome, even though he was standing inside the San Siro.
Later in the broadcast, Petrecca announced “The show continues with Mariah Carey”, however, the camera was focused on Italian actress Matilda De Angelis, who is 25 years younger than Carey.
De Angelis later joked about the error in an Instagram post, which she captioned “Please, call me Mariah”.
RaiSport confirmed Petrecca had been removed from the commentary team, according to the Associated Press.
