Mariah Carey has finally addressed one of the longest-running celebrity feuds in modern pop culture with her trademark mix of humor and cool dismissal. Appearing on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live this week, the singer was pressed by host Andy Cohen about her decades-long tension with rapper Eminem. Carey, who has spent much of her career avoiding direct engagement with the topic, surprised fans with a rare comment that suggested both bemusement and indifference.

Cohen had enlisted Carey in his recurring segment “Plead the Fifth!,” where celebrity guests must answer two of three questions, with the option of passing on one. The first question, about her annual royalties from “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” was batted away with a smile. The second, concerning ex-husband Nick Cannon’s claim that he insured his testicles for $10 million, drew a quick prayer-like plea of “Lord, help me.” But it was the third question that cut closest to one of the singer’s most infamous tabloid storylines.

“This summer, a producer claimed the real reason behind your feud with Eminem was that he wanted you to play his mom in 8 Mile,” Cohen said, referring to Damion “Damizza” Young’s comments on a podcast earlier this year. Carey hesitated for a moment before responding: “From what I heard there is truth to that. But I don’t think that he actually, well, who knows who approached who.” When Cohen followed up by asking if that incident had sparked the conflict, Carey shrugged it off: “Um, no. I mean, maybe. It depends what he’s thinking. I really don’t care. Like, whatever he’s said, then I’m that, fine. Not really. But that’s a rap lyric.”

The supposed clash between Carey and Eminem has fascinated fans and media alike for more than two decades. Eminem has long insisted that he and Carey were romantically involved for several months in the early 2000s, a claim she has consistently denied. In his music, the Detroit rapper repeatedly referenced Carey, weaving her name into lyrics on songs such as “Superman” and “When the Music Stops.” Carey, for her part, appeared to indirectly address the rumors on her 2002 track “Clown,” where she mocked the idea of a romance that “never even touched.”

The tension only escalated from there. In 2006, Eminem threw more fuel on the fire with “Jimmy Crack Corn,” likening Carey to a liar obsessed with him. He doubled down with “Bagpipes from Baghdad” in 2009, a track that took aim at Carey and then-husband Nick Cannon. Cannon publicly fired back in a since-deleted blog post, accusing Eminem of disrespecting Black women.

But perhaps the most explosive moment came later that year. Carey released the single “Obsessed,” accompanied by a video in which she dressed up as a stalker bearing a striking resemblance to Eminem. The rapper responded with “The Warning,” a brutal diss track that threatened to release alleged voicemails from Carey. The song was one of the harshest public responses Eminem has ever delivered toward a fellow celebrity.

The recent revival of this narrative came courtesy of producer Damion Young, who claimed that Eminem once wanted Carey to play his mother in 8 Mile, the semi-autobiographical film that ultimately won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. At the time, Carey was only four years older than Eminem, making the casting proposal somewhat far-fetched. Young suggested that Carey bristled at the idea, seeing it as an insult, and that this tension helped ignite their public spat. The role ultimately went to Kim Basinger, who is nearly two decades Eminem’s senior.

Carey’s acknowledgment of the story on Cohen’s show gave it new credibility, though she appeared uninterested in revisiting the details. True to form, she preferred to wave off the drama as little more than artistic posturing from a rapper known for turning real-life disputes into lyrical fodder.

Two decades later, the Carey-Eminem saga seems more like pop culture folklore than an active battle. Neither artist has made a serious attempt at reconciliation, but neither has escalated the fight in recent years either. Carey’s comments on Watch What Happens Live reinforce the sense that, for her at least, the feud is a closed chapter.

“I really don’t care,” she said simply; a statement that, after years of speculation, may be the final word on one of music’s strangest rivalries.