It doesn’t seem like Mariah Carey can use the “I don’t know her” excuse to dodge questions about Muni Long.
Long — who won the 2025 Grammy for Best R&B Performance for her live rendition of her song “Made for Me” on BET — covered Carey’s 2005 hit “We Belong Together” at the iHeartRadio Music Awards Monday night.
Carey seems to know Long personally, at least in a working capacity. The “Fantasy” singer’s vocals are featured on Long’s “Made For Me” remix that she released last May. Long has also co-written songs for Carey in the past, such as “A No No,” “Infinity” and “Runway.”
Carey was in the audience during Long’s performance Monday night and seemed to have a pretty strong reaction to her cover — which Carey’s fans certainly noticed.
In a short clip that is getting attention on X, the camera pans from Long’s performance to Carey, who looks so unimpressed that she slowly moves her face to the side, toward a friend sitting next to her, like she’s trying to avoid looking at the stage.
Carey has a track record of publicly throwing shade at celebrities like Jennifer Lopez, Nicki Minaj and Madonna, so most of her fans thought this gesture was just another entry in Carey’s burn book.
Although Carey’s gesture can be viewed as amusingly petty, a full video of Long’s performance shows that Carey had more of a nuanced reaction to the cover.
At the beginning of the performance, Long waves to Carey in the audience and sweetly asks her, “Can I sing to you?”
In response, Carey puts her hand on her chest, smiles at Long approvingly, and says, “Please do.”
The second time the camera pans to Carey, she has smile on her face but looks confused as her eyes dart around.
The third time the camera lands on Carey’s face is the moment that went viral. But at the very end of the performance, the pop star can be seen smiling and “woo-ing” Long on, albeit with somewhat low energy.
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Carey also seemed to enjoy a rendition of her 1995 hit “Always Be My Baby” that Tori Kelly performed immediately after Long left the stage.
