Mariah Carey: 'Yes, I bathe in cold milk'

Mariah Carey has admitted bathing in cold milk - but she denies being a diva.

The Honey hitmaker has long been the subject of rumours that she is a "diva" with lots of unusual demands backstage at her concerts and when she's on the road.

Carey has shot down rumours she is a demanding artist but has admitted she soaks her skin in dairy because it helps with her complexion and keeps her looking youthful.

In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, she said: "I bathe in milk. Yes, sometimes I use milk as a beauty treatment. I don't want to give away all my secrets. Cold milk. Well, I guess if there's no clean water and I had to use mineral water, maybe I would."

Among some of the more outlandish requests Mariah is alleged to have made include that she asked for 20 white kittens and 100 white doves to be in her dressing room when she turned on the Christmas lights at Westfield shopping centre in London and that she insists on having gold taps and a gold toilet seat when she stays in hotels.

Addressing these rumours directly, the R&B superstar laughed: "Look, 20 cats is an absolute lie. I'm not a cat lady. I don't have one cat any more. And I mean, honestly?

"Golden taps! I could just buy a house for that! I mean, are there myths about other people and their diva-ishness?"'

Carey, 48, has seven-year-old twins Moroccan and Monroe - her kids with her ex-husband Nick Cannon - and she admits that her son Monroe is very "bossy" but she insists he doesn't get that trait from her.

She said: "They both have traits. My son is a little bit bossy. He's next level. I'm not that bossy, honestly. I try to be nice. I do! I know everybody thinks I am. Whatever. I don't know what they think. I don't care ...

"I don't know and I don't want to know. If I looked at every single thing people say about me I couldn't exist as me, so I'd rather just see certain things."

- Bang! Showbiz