Mariah Carey axed her longtime creative director and choreographer following the diva’s train-wreck New Year’s Eve performance in Times Square, according to a report Tuesday.
Anthony Burrell appears to be the first scapegoat from Team Mariah over Saturday night’s debacle, when Carey took the “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” stage and inexplicably failed to sing, “Entertainment Tonight” reported.
“He’s not being brought back [in 2017] for a number of reasons,” a source close to Carey claimed.
The source told “ET” Burrell’s termination is rooted in his decision to move Carey’s backup singers off stage to make more room for dancers.
Burrell reportedly made that move without consulting others in Carey’s management team.
Booting backup singers off stage “left Mariah without any support” when her earpiece went out, the source said.
Carey looked completely lost on stage and said, “We can’t hear.” She moved around on stage but didn’t perform her 1991 hit “Emotions.”
“I haven’t been able to watch NYE performance. 30 sec from live TV, boss couldn’t hear her own vocal in her in-ears from Mic. #heartbroken,” Burrell tweeted on Monday.