As the crowned Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey‘s annual “It’s Time” announcement has become the highly anticipated royal signal to kickstart the holiday season.

Unlike in years’ past, however, the 2025 edition of the proclamation didn’t exactly get the most cheerful response.

 

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Dashing away from her usual cheeky, music video-inspired renditions of ‘It’s Time,’ Carey teamed with Sephora to turn 2025’s edition into an advertisement.

Featuring the Songbird Supreme dressed as an angel, the ad depicts her interacting with an elf (portrayed by comedian Billy Eichner) who claims he’s going on strike due to “being put through holiday hell” – even noting he’s pawning items to afford “elf therapy.” Carey dismisses his concern in response.

For many viewers, the commercial – featuring an unemployed worker who had to take extreme measures to afford healthcare – was a subliminal minimization of the state of the American economy.

An economy, as many have pointed out, ridden with massive unemployment, food insecurity, and unaffordable healthcare options.

As calls for a nationwide boycott of Cyber Week and Black Friday continue to grow, some detractors have taken aim at Carey’s commercial as “ill timed” and “insensitive.”

“The concept of Mariah Carey turning her ‘It’s Time’ video into a corporate ad mocking labor movements and using AI [is] representing the overall commercialization of the Christmas season,” one X (formerly known as Twitter) user said while another griped, “Mariah Carey’s Sephora ad is tasteless and classist.”

Ouch!

At writing, Mimi nor Sephora has publicly responded to the backlash.

Your thoughts?

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