Mariah Carey's Stiff Locks At 2025 VMAs Aren't Helping The Wig Accusations

Mariah Carey's performance at the 2025 Video Music Awards had the Internet talking for all the wrong reasons. Before receiving the coveted Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, the iconic performer put on a mini-show for the assembled crowd, gamely belting out some of her biggest hits from Carey's celebrated, decades-long career. However, it was difficult not to notice that while she walked around the stage for nearly five minutes, her hair did not budge an inch. 

mariah carey perfoming a medley of her biggest hits 'fantasy', 'honey', 'heartbreaker', 'obsessed', 'it's like that' and the classic 'we belong together' at the vmas
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— 2000s (@PopCulture2000s) September 8, 2025

Naturally, this prompted people to speculate that she was wearing a wig, and they took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to criticize her for her choice. One user didn't mince their words with their critique, sniping, "So many millions and she can't even rock a decent wig? Mariah Carey serving temu hair vibes... total chaos on stage." Likewise, another commentator snarked, "Mariah Carey out here lip syncing with veneers, Botox and a wig, hair didn't move once. S*** was terrible." 

In contrast, one X user was far more constructive with their criticism, advising, "Dear Mariah Carey, please find a better wig. One that fits you." Some even found that the "Honey" songstress was making an earnest effort to keep her locks locked in place while she performed. Meanwhile, another commentator was left to wonder why a diva like her didn't choose a wig that looked more natural. While the reasons behind Carey's odd hairdo choice at the 2025 VMAs remain a mystery, she has previously opened up about her struggles with maintaining her natural hair.

During a 2022 appearance on Meghan Markle's "Archetypes" podcast, Mariah Carey opened up about how stylists consistently struggled with her natural hair. After noting that she had naturally curly locks, the iconic singer explained, "If it was a white hairdresser that had never dealt with textured hair, they would tend to do a different thing. And my hair would be like, 'You're not doing that!'" She continued, "And then if somebody that had only dealt with ethnic hair, it would become too much product and too much weight." 

The "We Belong Together" hitmaker admitted that she had faced similar hair struggles growing up too, since Carey had a white mother and a Black father. While speaking to the Sunday Times, also in 2022, the Grammy winner recalled how, in her childhood years, she believed that "hair was supposed to look a certain way." When Carey was young, she noticed that her Black and mixed-race friends were able to enhance their tresses using customized treatments. Meanwhile, her white pals' hair didn't require any special effort. 

Additionally, the diva's mother didn't think that she needed conditioner and didn't keep it around the house as a result. However, after Carey had a stunning transformation in the public eye, she refused to go anywhere without keeping a bottle of conditioner handy. During a November 2015 interview with People, the singer shared that when left to her own devices, she'd happily steer clear of styling entirely and just leave her hair as is. Notably, in addition to rocking her natural locks, Carey also looks stunning going makeup-free.