Mariah Carey was 'infantilised' from beginning of her career

Mariah Carey felt like she was "infantilised" from the beginning of her career.

The singer is one of the most successful musical acts in history, and holds the record for the most number one hits on Billboard's Hot 100 chart with 18 chart-topping tracks.

Speaking to Variety for its annual Power of Women issue, the Emotions star opened up about her reported breakdown in 2001, and confessed people couldn't deal with her standing up for herself because they didn't think she was capable.

"It was an emotional and physical breakdown, but it wasn't a nervous breakdown, because you don't recover from that really," the diva shared. "And even my therapist was like, 'You didn't have a breakdown; you had a diva fit and people couldn't handle it.'"

Mariah went on to reflect that she always tried to keep a smile on her face even during difficult moments, but admitted that led to her downfall, explaining: "These people are here making money off me; why don't they care if nobody's got an umbrella for me, and it's a sunny shoot?

"The minute I was like, 'I'm not fine; I need a day off, I need a moment'... nobody could handle it because they infantilised me from the beginning."

Now, the star acknowledges she's "like a petulant child", and insisted she has no regrets, quipping: "My true fans know this. I'm eternally 12... But we're artists."