The frantic call to help Mariah
Mariah Carey's mother made a frantic 911 call for help after her famous daughter cut herself on broken glass in the midst of an emotional and physical breakdown, it was revealed last night. The Grammy Award-winning singer was placed under psychiatric care while concerned friends blamed Carey's breakup on a combination of a crushing workload, personal problems and poor sales of her latest single.
Her spokeswoman, Cindi Berger, confirmed that Patricia Carey made a 911 call seeking "medical help" from her New York-area home at 10:19 p.m. July 25 - the day the singer was hospitalized. But Berger has denied London tabloid reports that Carey tried to commit suicide by cutting herself. "She did break some dishes and glasses, and she may have stepped on them," Berger said.
That incident apparently occurred in a SoHo hotel early on the day of the 911 call, but sources said Carey remained distraught all day. A source told the Daily News that Carey broke the glasses and plates "out of frustration".
That night, after her mother's 911 call, she was taken to a hospital in Westchester County, then transferred to an undisclosed facility. The news that the 31-year-old singer is under psychiatric care in an area hospital - first reported by The News yesterday - sent shock waves through the entertainment world and her millions of fans.
But Carey's friends and co-workers said the sexy star had been on a downward spiral for weeks, even before it exploded into a full-blown medical crisis. "This is has building up for a while," said one person who had worked on a project with her for several months. "Her single wasn't well received, and now she's waiting on the Glitter album and the movie later this month. She was saying things that were not real. She was getting spooked by objects - like voodoo. She was freaking out. She was taking the red-eye to California one night and taking it back to New York the next night and she was making a movie in Halifax. All she did was travel, and she just wore down." Carey has canceled all public engagements, including her headlining appearance at last night's MTV 20th birthday party, Berger said.
She has seen only her mother and brother since being hospitalized. "They're keeping it very simple," said Berger, who would not say where Carey is staying. "She is improving and resting comfortably." The singer's estranged boyfriend, singer Luis Miguel, has inquired about her condition but has not visited, said Berger. "He was concerned about her," she added.
Berger also said there is no change in the release dates for Carey's new album and movie, both called "Glitter" and due out this month. Still, just weeks from the Aug. 31 premiere of Carey's first movie, the superstar's show business career hangs in the balance. The first public sign that she was cracking up came July 19, when she made an unscheduled appearance on MTV's "Total Request Live" and suddenly stripped down to her sports bra.
The next day, Carey babbled like a fool at record promotion appearances on Long Island and in Manhattan. A day after that, she posted a rambling message on her Web site that read: "I don't know what's going on with life." There was also a report that she had tangled in May with co-star Mira Sorvino on the set of another movie, "Wise Girls". "Mariah threw a salt shaker at her [Sorvino]," People magazine quoted the producer as saying. "They wrestled to the floor."
That was before the toll of flying back and forth between Los Angeles and New York to work on "Glitter" and "Wise Girls" began taking its toll on Carey. During this period, Carey also suffered the first setback of her singing career when her single, "Loverboy", got a critical drubbing and tanked on the charts. She reportedly was crushed by the reception. As if Carey didn't have enough to worry about, there were reports that her troubled brother, Morgan, was trying to oust her manager, Louise McNally, and take over. "There are no changes in management," Berger said last night. "Her team remains in place."
Born 31 years ago in New York and raised in poverty by her divorced opera singer mother, Carey was 18 and working as a coat check girl when she was discovered by Sony music mogul Tommy Mottola. Mottola married her, had her teeth fixed and turned her into a star. Her 1990 debut album sold 6 million copies, won two Grammy Awards - and was the first of several best-selling records. Eight years later, the Carey-Mottola marriage was in shambles and Carey was spotted stepping out with Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter.
Free of Mottola, Carey shed her good girl image and went sexy. She embraced hip hop, spent lavishly and developed a reputation as a diva. She partied as hard and she worked. And the nonstop schedule strained her three-year relationship with Miguel. "Sometimes I don't realize where I am anymore," she said in a recent interview. "Some nights I barely manage four hours sleep, because I'm just so busy." (New York Daily News)
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