Nothing’s funny about someone who’s successful.

Taken at face value, the line reads as a sardonic comment on how audiences and the culture industry often prefer comedians as underdogs: struggle, insecurity, and social marginality are treated as the raw material of humor, while visible “success” can make a performer seem less relatable or less hungry. It also hints at a double standard in celebrity culture—once someone “makes it,” their persona may be reinterpreted as smug, safe, or corporate, even if their craft hasn’t changed. If Carey said it, it likely functions as self-aware critique of fame’s effect on comedic credibility and on how people receive jokes.