Pop diva Mariah Carey has for the first time opened up about the "mental" and "emotional" abuse she suffered during her marriage to music mogul Tommy Mottolla in a new TV interview.

Promoting her upcoming film 'Precious', in which she plays a social worker trying to help an abused teenager, the pop star told CNN anchorman Larry King that she's no stranger to abuse.

When asked about her views on R&B star Chris Brown's attack on ex-girlfriend Rihanna, Carey said, "I was very sequestered, as you know, when I first started out and if I were just allowed to be young and with a young boyfriend who's also a star... I don't know what goes on."

"I wasn't really allowed out of the house, so I can't imagine what she went through," Carey added.

Asked if anyone had ever abused her, Carey said, "Abuse has several categories... emotionally, mentally, in other ways."

She refused to go into details, but added that she sympathised with women who struggle to break free from abusive relationships.

"It's scary. I just think you get into a situation and you feel locked in. If your situation is similar to one of the situations I've been in, which I won't harp on... For me, to really get out of it was difficult because there was a connection that was not only a marriage, but a business where the person was in control of my life," the star added.

Carey was married to Mottola from 1993 to 1998.