# What's the deal with Mariah Carey and her right side of her face? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2006, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337 "2006-05-18T23:49:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2006, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/1 "2006-05-18T23:49:49Z")
I thought this was a rumor, that Mariah Carey is only filmed from her right side… but I just watched a craptacular Pepsi commercial and sure enough, every shot only showed her right side of her face. What gives? Is the other side scarred? Or is this an example of her tired-assed diva act? Personally I find her boring, though slightly attractive. ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/2 "2006-05-19T00:26:25Z")
I haven’t noticed a specific picture of her left side, but apart from only being photographed on her right (perhaps it’s her “best”), you’d certainly think any problems would have the 'net awash in images. Wish I could be more helpful. ☹ Regardless, what made me post though was a recent actual image of a different celebrity (well sort of)… I give you [Melissa Joan Hart](http://people.aol.com/people/galleries/0,19884,1192375_14,00.html). Now if that doesn’t make you wonder what the hell happened, I dunno what will. Guess the poor girl needs more sleep to help straighten out _her_ right eye. Or something. ---
**Author:** ![DxZero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DxZero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DxZero)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/3 "2006-05-19T00:29:48Z")
> [@Hippy Hollow](#): > > I thought this was a rumor, that Mariah Carey is only filmed from her right side… but I just watched a craptacular Pepsi commercial and sure enough, every shot only showed her right side of her face. What gives? Is the other side scarred? Or is this an example of her tired-assed diva act? > > Personally I find her boring, though slightly attractive. Well I’ve seen interviews with her (as I flipping through the channels…yeah…just flipping) and there didn’t appear to be anything wrong with the right side of her face. Mariah’s just a nutso. She’s not the first, she won’t be the last. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/4 "2006-05-19T00:35:33Z")
Several of her album covers show her [full face](http://tinyurl.com/pwczf), including her most recent, “[The Emancipation of Mimi.](http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000BO0LLS.01.LZZZZZZZ.jpg)” They do tend to favor her right side slightly, but not really obscuring anything. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/5 "2006-05-19T00:40:32Z")
Having gone through the official photos at her official website, the premise appears correct and she _does_ prefer to show her right cheek to the camera. Close examination suggests she has an slightly-odd dimple of some kind on the left side of her jaw (not nearly as obvious, actually, as Tina Fey’s scar) and perhaps she’s self-conscious about it. Hardly a reason for criticism. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/6 "2006-05-19T00:52:57Z")
The Emancipation of Mimi shows Mariah’s “full face” airbrushed to oblivion, and about a third shaved off her body. That Photoshop is good stuff. That said, there’s nothing wrong with her face. \*Or \* her body. Her psyche, however, seems a bit scarred. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/7 "2006-05-19T00:55:16Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > Regardless, what made me post though was a recent actual image of a different celebrity (well sort of)… I give you [Melissa Joan Hart](http://people.aol.com/people/galleries/0,19884,1192375_14,00.html). Now if that doesn’t make you wonder what the hell happened, I dunno what will. Guess the poor girl needs more sleep to help straighten out _her_ right eye. Or something. That is unusual. Explain _that_ one, Clarissa. ---
**Author:** ![blueserge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@blueserge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blueserge)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/8 "2006-05-19T01:01:02Z")
So glad to have company here in the padded cell. I’ve noticed this about Mariah Carey for years. I’m not a fan, but back in the heyday of MTV and VH1 her videos were pretty much inescapable, and many show she has a distinct preference for her left side. (I’m thinking of “Someday” and “Emotions.”) A lot of celebs are obsessed in this way. Claudette Colbert was a classic example. Fanatical about keeping her right side hidden to the point of putting green greasepaint on it lest the cinematographer forget. Whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/9 "2006-05-19T02:06:44Z")
> [@faithfool](#): > > I give you [Melissa Joan Hart](http://people.aol.com/people/galleries/0,19884,1192375_14,00.html). Now if that doesn’t make you wonder what the hell happened, I dunno what will. WAG: Bell’s palsy. If it ain’t, it looks exactly like it. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/10 "2006-05-19T02:11:45Z")
Ooh, I didn’t know [this](http://hcd2.bupa.co.uk/fact_sheets/html/bells_palsy.html): > [@](#): > > Bell’s palsy accounts for about half of all cases of paralysis affecting the face. […] Men and women are equally affected, although pregnancy increases the risk threefold. Another hair on the wild ass of my guess. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/11 "2006-05-19T02:13:11Z")
It happens to a lot of people. Sometime, way back when, someone said that one side looked better than the other and that’s all it took. Rona Barrett was like that too. Once appearing on “Merv Griffin” she used the handshaking-with-the-other-guests procedure to rearrange people so she could sit on the proper side of Merv with her good side showing. Awkward doesn’t cover it. I can’t remember who the other guests were, but since they had come out before Rona, they certainly thought they outranked her and didn’t like being pushed around. ---
**Author:** ![DianaG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ab992/32.png) [@DianaG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DianaG)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/12 "2006-05-19T02:24:54Z")
But Bell’s is temporary. [Melissa Joan Hart](http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h234/wisdomy/Melissa20Joan20Hart206.jpg) has always been [wonky](http://www.melissa-joan-hart.org/Bilder/mjh01.jpg) [eyed](http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h234/wisdomy/f45a11cd.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![joyfool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/df788c/32.png) [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/13 "2006-05-19T02:34:24Z")
Wow. Thanks for all the replies y’all. I guess I’d never noticed it so pronounced before. ---
**Author:** ![pokey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ebca7d/32.png) [@pokey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pokey)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/14 "2006-05-19T02:34:31Z")
Paris Hilton’s eyes are wonkier. It always seems to me she holds her head crooked so you won’t get dizzy from it. Maybe Mariah doesn’t like her mole on her chin. But you’d think she’d be able to handle going to get it removed if that was the case. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/15 "2006-05-19T03:19:46Z")
I’ll be damned All this time - I never noticed she had a face 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hirundo82](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/919ad9/32.png) [@Hirundo82](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hirundo82)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/16 "2006-05-19T03:35:56Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > WAG: Bell’s palsy. If it ain’t, it looks exactly like it. Bell’s palsy doesn’t affect the muscles of ocular motility though. It is paralysis of the facial nerve; other nerves are responsible for moving the eye. It doesn’t look like she has a facial droop. Plus, as has been noted, Bell’s palsy gets better with time. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/17 "2006-05-19T03:38:53Z")
> [@DianaG](#): > > But Bell’s is temporary. [Melissa Joan Hart](http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h234/wisdomy/Melissa20Joan20Hart206.jpg) has always been [wonky](http://www.melissa-joan-hart.org/Bilder/mjh01.jpg) [eyed](http://i65.photobucket.com/albums/h234/wisdomy/f45a11cd.jpg). Ah, excuse me. I had no idea who she was and thought it was a recent development. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/18 "2006-05-19T03:43:49Z")
Weird, that’s the first I’ve really noticed the lazy eye on Melissa Joan Hart (and I used to watch _Sabrina_ on and off way long ago). Recently, Jamey Sheridan (of _Law and Order: Criminal Intent_) suffered from Bell’s palsy and had to wear an eyepatch for a couple of episodes. No such luck for Melissa? All the pictures I’m getting of Mariah Carey off a Google search are fairly even (obviously Photoshopped or straight on into the camera) and I can’t see anything. Very odd. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![edwino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@edwino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwino)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/19 "2006-05-19T06:37:03Z")
What like 18 posts into this and nobody’s mentioned Shannon Doherty? To me, it looks like Melissa Joan Hart has a left-sided ptosis (drooping eyelid), not a strabismus (lazy eye). The way you can tell is to line up the corneal reflexes (fancy name for the light reflecting off of the corneas) with the borders of the pupil. Even if the eyes don’t look symmetric, the corneal reflexes line up on the same part of the pupil. So the eyes are facing the same direction. This allows us to distinguish true strabismus from pseudostrabismus, where a kid looks like cross-eyed because of prominent epicanthic folds, a wide nasal bridge, or narrow intraocular distance. Anyway, to the OP, given Mariah’s past proclivities, this is what we are now starting threads over? 🙂 And for your enjoyment. Neither [Lindsay Lohan](http://lohanfacial.ytmnd.com/) or [Paris Hilton](http://parisfacial.ytmnd.com/) ever apparently change facial expression or head position. You’re the man now dog!!! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2006, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-mariah-carey-and-her-right-side-of-her-face/357337/20 "2006-05-19T06:39:36Z")
Lohan’s just doing her version of the blank look at most models seem to adopt. I have no idea how that’s supposed to be appealing. Paris Hilton is just repulsive.