Mariah Carey mocked for using teleprompter to phonetically spell out Italian lyrics during Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony after bosses refused to deny she was lip-synching

Mariah Carey has been mocked for using a teleprompter to phonetically spell out Italian lyrics during her Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony performance. 

A video of the singer, 56, reading the words to Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu — better known as Volare has been circulating, with a phonetic breakdown of the song's Italian lyrics.

First released by Domenico Modugno in 1958, this iconic Italian song symbolises a dream of freedom, happiness, and, in the lyrics, the feeling of flying high in the sky.

The teleprompter spelled out: 'Ay-een-comb-een-chah-voh. Voh-lah-reh.'

And people took to the comments to say: 'Why wasn’t a Italian singing its Italia.'

'I love Mariah but they should have had one of our own singing this like Andrea Bocelli… Volare Nel blu, dipinto di blu” is an Italian song with a deep meaning.' 

'I feel bad. Why did they make her sing an Italian song anyways she did her best.'

'Pizza with pineapple. This how it looks & sounds.'

It comes as bosses have refused to rule out the diva was 'lip synching' during her performance in Milan on Friday. 

The song matked the start of the 25th Olympic Winter Games, but was quickly ridiculed on social media.

When asked directly whether Mariah was miming, the show's director, Maria Laura Iascone, confirmed that there had been a prerecording, but refused to say whether it had been used or if the singer had performed live, The Guardian reported. 

'During all the ceremonies, in order to be on the safe side, we always record. But this is something that is practised internationally in events with high-level broadcasting.'

Iascone went on to say that she had no complaints with Carey's performance, hailing the singer's 'really extraordinary show.'

'It was fantastic for everybody, and we are all satisfied by the results we had. And the images prove it to you all because there was magic.'

A spokesperson for Milan-Cortina said some elements of the opening ceremony had been pre-recorded 'to ensure accurate timing, sound quality and a seamless broadcast'.

It comes after Carey was accused of putting little effort into her 'attempts' to reach the top of her vocal range, with spectators claiming that the singer was at times moving her lips more slowly than what was being heard.

The ceremony was also disturbed by booing for US Vice-President JD Vance, who attended the San Siro opening ceremony to watch Team USA enter.

'I haven't seen a worse lip sync performance than this in years,' one upset user on X tweeted out while Carey was still on stage.

'Some of the most awful lip syncing by Mariah Carey [facepalm emoji] come on Italy, you have your own singers!!' another user posted.

Another post read, 'Witnessing Mariah Carey at the #Olympics2026 Opening Ceremony...she is stiff, lip syncing and looks like she's reading off a teleprompter.'

'mariah carey lip syncing looks awfully off,' one user posted.

One user posted, 'The worst part is that Mariah Carey isn’t even trying to hide the fact she’s lip syncing.'

'Mariah Carey ain’t even singing this s**t smh hate lip syncing,' wrote another upset commenter.

Another posted, 'Mariah Carey is lip syncing at the f***ing Olympics.'

'I'm very confused why American Mariah Carey is lip syncing at the Opening Ceremony in Milan,' one user wondered.

While Carey doesn't have any Italian heritage - as she was born to a father with Irish ancestry and an Afro-Venezuelan mother - she is trained in opera and is capable of an impressive vocal range.

Still, her inclusion drew some confusion when it was initially announced in December.