Mariah Carey wanted to become the official Queen of Christmas, but the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office told her that would not be possible.
The 52-year-old pop singer has been unofficially referenced as such for years, thanks in part to her massively successful single, “All I Want For Christmas Is You.” Carey was interested in trademarking the title so she could use it on various merchandise, including fragrances, lotions, nail polish, jewelry, cups, mugs, chocolate milk, coconut water, ornaments, toys, dog clothing, masks, lingerie, and sweatshirts, per TMZ.
The “Fantasy” songstress filed the patent request in 2021 but faced opposition from fellow recording artists Darlene Love and Elizabeth Chan, who believed it wasn’t fair for Carey to “monopolize” the word “Christmas.” Chan filed an opposition, which was ultimately successful.
Chan shared in a statement with TMZ: “Christmas is a season of giving, not the season of taking, and it is wrong for an individual to attempt to own and monopolize a nickname like Queen of Christmas for the purposes of abject materialism.”
Despite Carey losing out on making her unofficial title a merchandising goldmine, she’s still raking in profits from the hit single every season. This year, she got into a back-and-forth with Martha Stewart after hyping up the song the day after Halloween, as The Daily Wire previously reported.
“Mariah, you know me, I’m a traditionalist with a twist. And you cannot give up Thanksgiving just because you don’t like turkey,” Stewart said during an appearance on The Today Show. “I love turkey, and many, many other people love turkey. So do not think we are going to give up Thanksgiving just because you say so.”
Carey replied, saying she was still planning to celebrate Thanksgiving even though she was getting into the Christmas spirit early. “Dearest Martha!! NEVER will I give up Thanksgiving!!” the singer shared in her reply. “But we can still start getting into the festive spirit now!”
She continued, “P.S I’d love to have you at my Thanksgiving dinner although I’ve yet to be invited to your Thanksgiving extravaganza! And THAT is MAJOR! Esp if Snoop’s coming!”
“All I Want For Christmas Is You” was released in 1994 and has been a holiday season staple ever since. It has sold an estimated 16 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling Christmas single by a female artist.