Nearly 40 years into her career, Mary J. Blige is reflecting on her success and acknowledging the poor behavior she showed early on.
The Grammy-winning singer recently sat down for an extremely candid chat on Scott Evans’ House Guest podcast, where she admitted to seeing her younger self as a “monster” during the early years of her career.
“I used to be a monster. 1994 Mary was horrible. Go Google it. You’ll see it. It was terrible, man,” Blige said.
Reflecting on her past actions, the “Not Gon’ Cry” singer admitted to “cursing out” reporters for asking her the same type of questions. One X user even included a throwback clip from one interview Blige conducted in the early 90s’ that shows the “horrible” behavior she might’ve been referring to.
Now 55, with decades in the industry, Mary J. Blige said her perspective has shifted, and she now appreciates interviews, candid conversations, and chances to reflect on her success.
“What if nobody cared? You should be happy that people want to talk to you,” she said.
“This is a blessing and an opportunity for people to want to hear what you say. … I grew up. I used to treat people so bad,” Blige added. “Early on, it was like ‘shut up.’
But she admits her behavior was “rude and ungrateful,” attributing it to her upbringing and saying she had to learn to love herself before she could heal.
“I was a savage,” she said in a separate interview. “I treated men like they treated me.”
Blige added that she later asked her team to reach out to journalists she had mistreated so she could apologize.
“I apologized to every last one of those people,” she said. “It was humbling, but it wasn’t something I was afraid of. I knew in my spirit that I had to do it because I was awful.”
She said the apologies “cleared my conscience” and
helped unlock new success, making others more eager to collaborate and leading to fresh wins in her career.RELATED CONTENT: ‘I Was F—ing Exhausted’: Mary J. Blige Responds To Chatter Around Lax Performances