When all else fails blame it on the alcohol….

Unfortunately for Mariah Carey, the alcohol was not effective enough so she decided to blame her drunken speech at the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards gala on ‘Precious’ director Lee Daniels !

“The thing is me and Lee hadn’t see each other in a long time, and then he was presenting my award, so he starts off immediately with inside jokes,” Carey said backstage at the People’s Choice Awards Wednesday night.

“We had splashes of champagne, and I love Lee but he’s a bad influence,” the singer said and laughed.

“If people don’t understand me and think I’m just like this girl that stands by a microphone and sings ‘Hero,’ then they’re definitely not going to get me,” she explained. “But if people knew me better, they would understand I have a sense of humor, and basically that’s what gets me through life.”