Mariah Carey's awkward electricity bill interview conversation has sparked debate online -

Mariah Carey was supposedly unaware people had to pay electricity bills. In an interview from 2009 the singer seems entirely confused at the concept of paying for electricity. Must be nice to be Mariah!

The viral video of the awkward moment between the talented artist and the interviewer has recently resurfaced online. It’s sparked debate as fans argue whether Mariah Carey was being serious or trying to be funny by noting knowing an energy or electricity bill was.

Mariah Carey confused over electricity bill

American singer-songwriter and record producer Mariah Carey was being interviewed on a 2009 British show when asked about what her to-do list looks like.

Acknowledging hers may look different to other people’s, the interviewer suggests his usually contains things like buying eggs and paying bills.

The line about an electricity bill catches Mariah Carey off guard, as she asks: “Bill… Bill who?”

To help out Carey, the interviewer explains the concept of a bill using an example: “Bill… like a bill. Like electricity.”

However, the singer grows more confused people in the UK have to pay for electricity, later replying: “In America, we get it for free.”

Even when the interviewer insists she must have to pay electric bills, Carey doesn’t think so.

Finally, the presenter states: “You do, maybe you just don’t feel like the money’s coming out of your account.”

The awkward and hilarious exchange left viewers shocked, but many fans believe Carey was simply trolling the interviewer and she did understand the concept of paying for electricity.

Electricity bill conversation sparks Mariah Carey debate

A clip from the 2009 interview was recently shared on Instagram, and has currently reached over 12 million views, thousands of likes, and a comment section full of laughter and debate.

One user wrote: “She’s messing with him. She grew up poor. She knows what a light bill is.”

On the other hand, another argued the opposite: “She’s not joking. She’s being serious… She’s been rich so long and gotten used to her team of people running her machine behind the scenes she forgot about the common things like paying bills.”

But one fan offered another angle: “She’s not kidding but there’s a reason she didn’t know. In most apartments in big cities, electricity is included in the rent. So growing up she never heard her mom talking about paying the electricity bill. Then when she started her career she had people handling that so it’s a very easy thing to understand if you know the facts.”

Over on TikTok, the viral clip also continued to spark debate in the comment section.

A fan said: “Mariah grew up in NY with a single mom, she knows about bills but that’s just not her life anymore.”

While another TikTok user joked: “We should all send our electric bills to her.”

Mariah Carey wasn’t always rich and successful

Mariah Carey’s successful music career, tours, and endorsements resulted in her having an estimated net worth of $350 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

The artist’s holiday staple, ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You‘ reportedly makes the 54-year-old approximately $2.5 million each year in royalties.

However, it has not always been this way for the celebrity who was born on 27 March 1969 in Huntington, New York.

In her memoir titled ‘The Meaning Of Mariah Carey’, the singer discusses growing up in poverty in a violent household, her experiences of racism, music, marriages, and much more.

Growing up with her mother, a trained opera singer, they lived in near poverty with chronic instability, moving 13 times.

When asked about her success by CBS Sunday Morning host Jane Pauley, Mariah confirmed: “I always knew that I would do this, and it was just a matter of when it was going to happen. Because I came from, you know, a broken and dysfunctional family without money for things that most people have – when I say without money, I mean, like, we really didn’t have much of anything!”