AceShowbiz - Mariah Carey is baffled by longstanding rumors she is bisexual - insisting speculation she is attracted to women is not "reality". The "Hero" hitmaker has long faced allegations she is secretly gay, despite being married twice.

Now, the superstar, who is expecting a baby with current husband Nick Cannon, has addressed the unfounded gossip in a new interview for gay magazine The Advocate. She says, "If it makes somebody happy to say that, then whatever, but that's not the reality. I don't have a discriminatory policy of who I'm friends with, so yes, I'm friends with women who are gay - gay, straight, it doesn't matter to me. So I don't get upset when I hear that, because it is what it is. I guess I could lie about it to seem more exciting."

But the singer insists she is fully supportive of gay rights and backs the U.S. campaign for same-sex marriage to be made legal. She adds, "If two people want to get married, it's their prerogative - we hope. Everybody should be able to do what they want to do and be in the pursuit of happiness. Ever since I was a little girl, my mother was very open-minded and had many different types of friends, so being gay never seemed wrong or strange to me."