Last year, Barbara Walters revealed that Mariah Carey told her Nicki Minaj had threatened her on the set of American Idol, where both stars are judges.  It was a charge Nicki denied, but now, Mariah herself has made that claim, in a new ABC interview.

Clips of the interview, which will air on ABC's Nightline Monday night, were shown on Monday's edition of ABC's Good Morning America.  Mariah tells Walters, "It felt like an unsafe work environment. Anytime anybody's reeling threats at somebody, it's not appropriate. I'm a professional. I'm not used to that type of environment."

Mariah also told Walters that she'd hired more security following the alleged incident, explaining, "Sitting there on the road with two babies, I'm not going to take any chances."

Despite all the drama surrounding the judges, Mariah insisted that American Idol is "ultimately about the contestants," adding, "I've been blessed to live my dream more than half my life so I want to help give that back to someone else."

In the revealing interview, Mariah also opened up about her family with husband Nick Cannon . The two have a lot to celebrate after Nick's struggle early last year with a life-threatening auto-immune disease, which is why the pair renew their wedding vows every year.

"He's just as festive as I am," Mariah explained. "I'm very, very festive and he kind of almost trumps me there."

Mariah also shared how motherhood is treating her, calling quality time with son Moroccan "fun" and explaining that his twin sister Monroe is "a total diva...fascinated by jewelry [and] chandeliers."

American Idol premieres Jan. 16 at 8 PM on Fox.  The Nightline interview airs Monday night at 11:35 p.m. ET.

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