Wednesday 29 March 2000

Songbirds in figure feud

Pop rivals Mariah Carey and Jennifer Lopez are throwing their weight around again in a bitter public fight - and this time it is personal. Pop diva Mariah Carey has put herself on a crash diet after fellow songstress Jennifer Lopez publicly made catty comments about her rival’s weight. The bitter feud between the sultry songbirds, who both record for the Sony Music label, began last year when they verbally attacked each other in public - and in private. But it really turned ugly this year when Jennifer, 29 told mutual friends that Mariah, 30 was packing on the kilos.

"Jennifer told a pal, 'I'm sexier than Mariah. She’s been sitting on her little throne so long that all her success has made her plump'" reveals a music source. The remarks drove Mariah into a rage and launched her on a determined bid to the same shape he was when she started her career 10 years ago.

Mariah has transformed her figure with a low fat, low kilojoule, four times a day meal plan. She’s also exercising regularly, doing stomach crunches, sit-ups and leg raises, and going for the occasional jog. Whenever she’s hungry between meals, she snacks on carrots and celery. And now, with a little help from the plastic surgeon’s knife, she's looking sexier than ever.

When Mariah burst onto the music scene in 1990 with her first album, the self-titled Mariah Carey, she had a slim, girlish figure. Then in 1998, according to sources, she had breast implants for the first time, along with liposuction on her stomach. She's since had liposuction on her thighs, giving her a sensational new body. But she still wasn't happy and had a second breast enlargement last year, giving her more curves, which she loves to flaunt by wearing tight, low-cut dresses and tops.

And Mariah became more obsessed with her body last year after acid-tongued comic Joan Rivers made biting remarks at the Academy Awards, telling millions of viewers that Mariah looked fat. The singer said that the comments had caused her to have an "eating disorder". Jennifer’s snide, follow-up attack came just as Mariah thought she was winning her battle with excess baggage.

"It’s a vicious feud and it’s been going on a while now" says the music insider. "When they see each other at awards shows or showbiz parties, they give each other dirty looks and even exchange nasty words". The feud began shortly after Jennifer, star of movies Selena and Out Of Sight, launched her recording career last year. She was then linked to Mariah’s ex, Sony chief Tommy Mottola. Meanwhile, Mariah is said to have dated troubled rap tycoon Sean "Puffy" Coombs, whom Jennifer is now dating.

When asked about Jennifer’s singing career, Mariah cattily replied "She’s a dancer isn’t she? She lip-synced Selena’s vocals you know," adding, "I don’t think that as a singer we are in the same category as artists". Mariah, who’s sold 100 million records was recently voted Billboard’s Artist of the Decade for having a number one single in every year of the 90’s, has a long history of feuds with big stars.

She will never talk to Joan Rivers again and freely admits to having an angry face-to-face confrontation with Cameron Diaz after the actress made a disparaging comment about Mariah’s music, saying it sent her to sleep. And the songbird lashed out at Madonna recently after the superstar blasted the huge hairstyle she wore for a Divas TV special. Mariah also attacked stand-up comic Sandra Bernhard after she made jokes about Mariah’s Irish-African-American ethnicity.

Mariah, who’s now dating Latin heartthrob singer Luis Miguel, proudly showed off her hot new body to Rolling Stone magazine. It stunned Jennifer Lopez, who’s hoping to replace her rival this decade as Sony’s number one album seller. Jennifer, who admits she’s had to watch her weight since she was 19, stepped up her diet regimen a few months ago, fed up with being the target of so many jokes about the size of her backside.

"People first started talking about my body after I did the movie Out of Site with George Clooney," she says. "Everyone made this huge fuss because I had breasts and a round bottom and curves. But a lot of women aid it was a relief to see someone big and curvy on screen after years of just having to watch stick-thin actresses. But then people started referring to me as Big Jennifer. I’m not big at all. I am pretty slim. So when people meet me in the flesh they’re always surprised to see that and they always say ‘Wow you’re not big at all!' "

Jennifer says she now keeps her figure in shape with a "very strict" diet and exercise program. "I look after myself," she declares. "I exercise. I never drink alcohol. I don’t do drugs and don’t eat anything that’s bad for me" she adds. "You have to work really hard to keep yourself on top. There’s a lot more to me than just my face and body, but I’m realistic enough to know just how important it is. I found that once I’d decided to eat healthily, I didn’t want to ruin it by putting something unhealthy in my mouth."

(Woman's Day)



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