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Mariah Carey's lip-sync disaster has sparked a war of words which is becoming even more epic than her on-stage meltdown.
Sources at the pop diva's camp reportedly told TMZ they believe Dick Clark Productions, the TV company behind the Times Square show, deliberately sabotaged her performance to boost ratings.
Carey had complained of problems with an earpiece earlier in the evening but was ignored, it was claimed.
Her spokeswoman Nicole Pence was quoted by Billboard magazine as saying that producers "set her up to fail."
Now Dick Clark Productions have hit back, calling the suggestion "defamatory" as well as "outrageous and frankly absurd".
"In very rare instances there are of course technical errors that can occur with live television, however, our initial investigation has indicated that DCP had no involvement in the challenges associated with Ms. Carey's New Year's Eve performance," the company said in a statement.
"We want to be clear that we have the utmost respect for Ms. Carey as an artist and acknowledge her tremendous accomplishments in the industry," it added.
The star herself, seems have seen the funny side of her botched headline performance in front of millions on New Years Eve, telling fans: "S**t happens".
Her tweet was accompanied with a sad face emoji and a crying with laughter emoji along with an exploding party popper and a GIF.
Carey lost the plot after her attempts to lip-sync completely fell apart, crying: "I'm trying to be a good sport here."
It's believed the wrong song was played and Carey couldn't hear what she should have been singing on stage.
(Photo: Getty)
(Photo: REUTERS)
With a face of thunder, she stropped around the stage saying: "'We didn't have a check for this song... we're missing some of the vocals, but it is what it is.
"I'm just going to let the audience sing."
(Photo: REUTERS)
(Photo: REUTERS)
"We didn't have a sound check for this New Year's baby, it is what it is."
"Get these monitors on please."
During a second song, she frequently gave the mic to audience members in the front row ,before saying to one of her backing dancers: "Just for laughs, do the lift."
Carey added: "I wanted a holiday too, can't I just have one."
As many as 2 million people, surrounded by a ring of 40-ton sand trucks and some 7,000 police, gathered in the "Crossroads of the World" to watch the glittering sphere complete its minute-long drop, marking the beginning of 2017.
(Photo: Reuters)
(Photo: Getty)
With the throng counting down the seconds, the crystal-paned ball slid with smooth precision down its pole, mounted on a tower at the head of the plaza. At the stroke of midnight, it touched home, illuminating a giant "2017" sign and sending a shower of fireworks into the sky.
The sights and sounds were experienced by a veritable sea of humanity, sectioned off in block after block of temporary corrals set up to better control the crowd.
(Photo: REUTERS)
Millions of others around the world watched the spectacle on television and the internet.
Despite the heavy police presence, or perhaps because of it, thousands of people, many from overseas, arrived early to be dazzled by the flashing signage and entertained by live musical performances by Carey as well as Thomas Rhett and Gloria Estefan.