Mariah Carey shares amusing reason she doesn’t have a driver’s licence

‘Well, I don’t like driving in Manhattan,’ singer says

Mariah Carey has shared the hilarious reason why she doesn’t have a driver’s licence.

The singer, 54, made the confession during an episode of The Jennifer Hudson Show, which aired on 15 November. After host Jennifer Hudson described how she views driving as a chance to “find [her] inner peace,” she asked Carey how often she drives.

In response, Carey noted that she actually doesn’t spend much time on the road, before specifying that she still knows how to drive.

“If there was one street where I could say: ‘Okay, this is a safe place for me to drive,’ I would do that,” she explained. “But the thing is, it’s just better for me to go with somebody in the car and not drive, but I can drive.”

However, the actor then revealed that while she’s been behind the wheel before, she doesn’t have a driver’s licence. “I was going to get my licence, because I don’t have my licence,” she said, before Hudson responded: “You don’t have a licence?...Now this is interesting.”

Carey specified why she no longer has a licence, after previously having one, adding: “I let it expire…I did have one before.”

She then explained that her licence expired after she’d moved to New York City, which wasn’t necessarily a place where she needed to drive. “You don’t really want to drive in Manhattan,” she said. “Well, I don’t like driving in Manhattan.”

The “Emotions” singer added that when she initially went to renew her licence, she realised it had actually “expired seven years ago”. She also said that she’s concerned about having to take her driving test again to get the licence, which Hudson understood. “I don’t think I would pass if I took the test again,” the TV host said. “I’m with you.”

Although Carey also said she’s worried about passing the road test, she noted that she’s still going to try to get “her licence again”, prompting applause from the audience.

Hudson praised Carey’s plans, before adding: “Okay, I want a car ride. I want a ride with you.”

Carey’s comments about renewing her licence come as she’s in the midst of her US Christmas Tour, which started on 15 November in Highland, California. The tour will continue through the holiday season, with her last concert set for 17 December in New York City.

Earlier this month, Carey also made headlines when she participated in her annual tradition of declaring 1 November to be the first day of Christmas. The Instagram video started off with an ice-covered bank vault, with the clock signifying that it was 11.59pm on 31 October. As soon as the time changed to midnight, the vault door swung open, revealing Carey inside, dressed in red while captured in a block of ice.

As she was surrounded by people dressed as Halloween characters, they blew on the block of ice with hairdressers, referencing a meme joking that Carey hibernates for 10 months of the year and only needs “defrosting” for November and December. She then released herself and sang the iconic “It’s time” phrase, referring to the start of the holiday season.

The singer has been associated with the yuletide season since the release of her 1994 single “All I Want For Christmas Is You”, which has since snowballed into one of the biggest Christmas tracks of all time.