Mariah Carey to battle brother in court after deaths of mother and sister

Mariah Carey’s family saga is continuing to be complicated.

Just weeks after losing her mother and sister on the same day in August, her brother, Morgan Carey, wants her back in court.

According to documents obtained by Fox News Digital, a judge has ordered the siblings to sit for depositions in his lawsuit before January 31, 2025.

The order was filed Aug 27, three days after Carey’s sister, Alison, and their mother, Patricia, both died.

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"My heart is broken that I’ve lost my mother this past weekend," Carey told People magazine at the time. "Sadly, in a tragic turn of events, my sister lost her life on the same day."

"I feel blessed that I was able to spend the last week with my mom before she passed," Carey added. "I appreciate everyone’s love and support and respect for my privacy during this impossible time."

The filing stems from Morgan’s 2021 lawsuit for defamation against Carey, claiming many mentions of him in her 2020 memoir, "The Meaning of Mariah Carey," are "false and defamatory, personally invasive and painful, and have caused serious damage to his reputation and to his personal and business affairs."

Morgan’s original complaint also claims "the damage was intended," citing an interview with Oprah Winfrey about the book where Carey said he "drew first blood" and referred to him as her "ex-brother."

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The complaint notes that Morgan is seeking punitive damages but not a specific sum because the focus is on seeking "judicial determination that many of the passages in it which are of and concerning him are false and defamatory" and "undo the damage which these false and defamatory passages have caused and will cause him in his personal and business life."

Carey’s relationship with her family has been fraught for years.

David Baker, a friend of Carey’s sister, Alison, told People that the sisters hadn’t seen each other in years. 

Carey wrote in her 2020 memoir that it was "emotionally and physically safer" not to have contact with her sister or brother.

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Alison also sued Carey in 2021 following the release of her memoir, claiming she intentionally inflicted "emotional distress" on her.

Furthermore, the suit refers to Carey as "heartless, vicious [and] vindictive" and states that Alison had begun abusing alcohol and is "uncharacteristically tearful" after the book's release.

"When it comes to family members – like siblings or parents – ​it's rare to find a public appetite for protracted in-fighting and allegations in the media," Doug Eldridge of Achilles PR told Fox News Digital.

"Look at the Royal family: The tell-all book fell flat and the long-form sit-downs were largely panned," he continued, referring to Prince Harry’s memoir, "Spare."

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"Families fight, that's just a part of human nature; but to do so publicly with the express purpose of damaging the reputation of somebody else is rarely a net positive."

Another family publicly at odds at the moment are singer Elle King and her father, comedian and "SNL" alum Rob Schneider.

In August, King appeared on BunnieXO’s podcast, "Dumb Blonde," saying that when she released her album "people finally started asking about my dad," adding, ""My dad called me and was like, ‘Don’t f---ing talk about me in the press.'"

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She went on to recall feeling "lost in the shuffle" when she’d visit him on movie sets, as well as being sent to "fat camp" and a general lack of communication from him, including forgetting her 18th birthday.

King said they also disagree politically, explaining, "I disagree with a lot of the things that he says. You're talking out your a--, and you're talking sh-- about drag and, you know, anti-gay rights, and it's like … get f---ed. I want to use this opportunity to say I disagree. I do not agree with what he says."

"Families fight, that's just a part of human nature; but to do so publicly with the express purpose of damaging the reputation of somebody else is rarely a net positive."

— Doug Eldridge, Achilles PR

Schneider offered a public apology after the podcast episode, but King told People it doesn’t mean anything, noting she was simply being honest and "was not trying to hurt him."

Eldridge noted, "Public statements, especially among legitimately high-profile celebrities, often walk right up to the shoreline of a defamation claim without ever fully dipping a toe in the water. You'll hear words like 'toxic' instead of 'abuse' because one is subjective while the other requires an objective, evidentiary standard. You will often see someone make public statements, which lead the viewer or listener to reach a certain conclusion, but without ever saying the words or making the specific allegation."

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Other celebrities have battled their families in court over financial matters, particularly child stars who felt taken advantage of by their parents.

"There is a quiet but broad sense of distrust and or disapproval when it comes to the proverbial 'stage mom' or 'momager' of a young star," Eldridge said.

Drew Barrymore famously emancipated herself from her mother, Jaid Barrymore, at age 14.

An excerpt of her 2015 memoir, "Wildflower," shared in The Guardian revealed, the "E.T." star wrote, "It’s no secret that I had to part ways from my mother because we had driven our relationship into the ground. She had lost credibility as a mother by taking me to Studio 54 (so wrong, but so fun) instead of school. And I was out of control due to working since I was 11 months old and what that had done to my childhood, which made me grow up too fast. Work was a very positive thing in my life, and sadly it had been taken away, because my mother also put me in an institution because she felt helpless."

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Growing up, Barrymore said she struggled with her mother’s involvement in her career, telling People in 1989, "I came to resent her because it seemed so much [of her] life and career was invested in me. What I never realized was my mom changed her life so I could continue doing something I loved."

The relationship remained strained for decades, but in a 2023 interview with Vulture, Barrymore said she still cared and hoped for the best for her mother.

"I actually want her to be happy and thrive and be healthy," she said. "I do care. I’ll never not care. I don’t know if I’ve ever known how to fully guard, close off, not feel, build the wall up."

Similar to Barrymore, "Modern Family" star Alex Winter emancipated herself from her mother, Chrisoula Workman, when she was 17 after her older sister, Shanelle Gray, took over custody from their mother when Winter was 14.

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Winter alleged that her mother had been physically and emotionally abusive.

Speaking on "Ellen" in 2016, she said, "I don't really talk about the reason that I don't speak to my mother. It's kind of been publicized, but the reason I don't really share that is because I want to give her the respect that she didn't give to me publicly." 

As for her emancipation, she said, "Nobody controls you anymore. You handle your own business affairs, your own living arrangements, your own money. Everything is sort of in your own hands." 

Winter also credited her sister for supporting her, telling the talk show host, "She's the most important thing to me. She's been there for me through absolutely everything. And I just love her so much. I count on her more than anything."

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Several child stars have had to sue their parents for their earnings as well.

"The amount of embezzlement and self-serving decision-making that is done by an unqualified parent/guardian is staggering. Again, not always, but often enough that it's a problem. That's why states like New York and California have laws, which require a minimum amount of gross earnings be placed into an irrevocable trust, on behalf of the teen pop star," Eldridge said.

 "I do care. I’ll never not care. I don’t know if I’ve ever known how to fully guard, close off, not feel, build the wall up."

— Drew Barrymore

LeAnn Rimes sued her father, Wilbur Rimes, in 2000, claiming he and his partner took $7 million of her earnings. Wilbur countersued her, claiming she was over spending, per ABC News.

In 2002, the father and daughter settled their legal dispute in an undisclosed manner. 

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They reconciled in time for Rimes’ wedding to Dean Sheremet, and Wilbur walked his daughter down the aisle.

"I've never hated my dad. I just wanted a dad. I guess I just really disliked where he was in my life. I just wanted him to be my father," she told ABC News.

"The O.C." star Mischa Barton also sued her mother, Nuala Barton, claiming she stole money from her.

Barton, who began acting when she was 8, filed the lawsuit in 2015 at age 29, alleging she withheld money from her, calling her a "greedy stage mother…who schemed to defraud her unsuspecting victim," according to a report from The Los Angeles Times.

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The suit was dismissed in 2016, and Barton later opened up on her relationship with her mother.

"It just wasn’t healthy," Barton said on the "Call Her Daddy" podcast earlier this year. "I’ve really learned to prioritize my chosen family and the people who have really, actually been there for me. I don’t rely on any one particular family member anymore. I’ve learned that for my own happiness.

"I've never hated my dad. I just wanted a dad."

— LeAnn Rimes

The most famous case of a parent at odds over money with their child actor offspring is Macaulay Culkin’s legal battle with his parents.

The "Home Alone" star started acting when he was 4 and quickly became the family’s breadwinner.

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His father, Kit, was an aspiring actor, and according to Culkin, allegedly abusive and jealous of his son’s success.

"[He said] 'Do good or I'll hit you.' He was a bad man. He was abusive, physically and mentally — I can show you all my scars if I wanted to," he claimed on "WTF with Marc Maron" in 2018.

Kit managed Culkin’s career and finances, and it wasn’t until his parents' break-up (they were never married) and custody battle that he learned he was worth $50 million, per an interview he did with New York Magazine.

In a 2020 interview with Esquire, Culkin clarified that he never "divorced" or emancipated himself from his parents.

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"We didn’t want to go with my father. It’s always misconstrued that I ‘emancipated’ myself from my parents. I legally took my parents’ names off of my trust fund and found an executor, someone who would look over my finances," he explained.

He continued, "Basically, I had millions and millions of dollars in the bank and my mother couldn’t pay the rent because she was spending all of her money on lawyers. We were about to get evicted from our apartment. The only way I could get access to that money was to take my father’s name off it, but I didn’t want to make it messy, so I figured I’d take both their names off."

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Culkin and Kit became estranged, as did Culkin’s brother, actor Keiran Culkin.