By Shayla Kelley & Kiara Nowlin
Abstract: Mariah Carey was the target of media scrutiny after she flubbed her live performance at the 2016 Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve event. After refusing to sing the words to her hit song, “Emotions”, she utilized bolstering, minimization, defeasibility, denial, attacking the accuser and corrective action in her image repair strategy. Overall, this was unsuccessful because, she never apologized and took responsibility for her actions.
Mariah Carey Gif
Initial Findings:
Although Benoit argues mortification is the best image repair tactic, and this seems to be true for most situations, previously-studied celebrities do not initially utilize mortification. Early in the scandal, they attempt to explain the reasoning behind their actions. Celebrities use denial, bolstering, attacking the accuser, evasion of responsibility and minimization. It is not until a few days after being the target of public scrutiny that they apologize for their actions; however, many never take complete responsibility for their actions or statements.
Much of the public was upset that Carey refused to perform the song, even with technical difficulties, as they claimed that as an experienced professional, she should have been able to cope with the issues better. Furthermore, the public was bothered by the fact that she made excuses instead of owning up to her mistake. Carey’s loyal fans stayed supportive during this time, defending her on social media and in the comment sections attached the video circulating around the internet. Additionally, a sect of the public that understands the difficulty of live performances sympathized with Carey and her inability to sing with a malfunctioning earpiece.
Research Questions
1. How does social media affect image repair?
2. Do celebrities hurt or help themselves when they post on social media about their mistakes?
3. Is mortification the best strategy to use in all situations?
4. Does gender play a role in the public accepting an apology?
5. How much does immediate reaction affect the ability to repair one’s image?
Literature Review
Similar image repair studies have been completed on Rush Limbaugh, Kanye West, David Letterman and Rickey Gervais. These celebrities’ situations share the common theme of messing up on their own industries’ “stage” (radio show, talk show, etc.) in some form or fashion. Additionally, “The Critical Interrogation of Female Apology Discourse: A Case Study of Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton’s Multiple Attempts at Image Repair Discourse”, by D. L. Oles, examines how gender roles play a part in image repair in the eyes of the public, which is another interesting aspect to study.
Image Repair Tactics: Analysis
Kiara and I examined Carey’s immediate reaction on stage, her social media posts and her interview about the performance with Entertainment Weekly. During the performance, Carey utilized bolstering, as she attempted to divert the audience’s attention by talking about the single’s success. She later took to social media to minimize the situation by posting a Gif of herself with the caption, “S—t happens. Have a happy and healthy new year everybody! Here’s to making more headlines in 2017”. She then employed bolstering by posting another 10 times about her new show, “Mariah’s World”, on January 1, 2016. Lastly, in her interview with Entertainment Weekly, she used several image repair tactics, including defeasibility, denial, attacking the accuser, mortification and corrective action. She accused Dick Clark Productions of being unprofessional by letting her perform knowing her earpiece was not working correctly. Carey never apologized but did state that it would never happen again because she lost trust in other people outside of her own team. This could be seen as corrective action; however, this could also be seen as attacking the accuser because she is implied that the Dick Clark Productions’ team was at fault for the mishap.
Tactics:
Mariah Carey tweets “Sh** Happens” after her new years eve performance. Now everyone is focused on her TV show and her recent messy break up with her fiance
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