NICK CANNON EXPLODES AS MARIAH GETS CLOSE TO LADIES’ MAN LENNY

MARIAH CAREY and hubby NICK CANNON

MARIAH CAREY and hubby NICK CANNON are back at each other's throats – over her too-close-for-comfort relationship with rockin' ladies' man LENNY KRAVITZ!

"America's Got Talent" host Nick, 31, hit the roof when Mariah suggested Lenny, 48, join her as a judge on "American Idol," sources say.

"Mariah and Lenny have been friends since they were young," said a source. "They had a crush on one another, and all their friends knew it."

The two Grammy winners worked together on the 2009 movie "Precious," and they were both in New Orleans recently filming the upcoming movie "The Butler."

And Nick blew up when Mariah, 43, posted a picture of herself with the "American Woman" singer on her Twitter page on Aug. 20 with a message urging "Idol" brass to hire him, said the source.

"Mariah told Nick to relax because Lenny probably wouldn't even consider doing the show," said the source.

"But Nick told her, ‘That's not the point! I know how you feel about him!' Mariah assured Nick that she and Lenny are just good friends, but Nick's not so sure."

His suspicions first heated up in May when Kravitz posted a cozy picture of him with his arm around Mariah's waist on his Facebook page. The two had bumped into each other in Morocco while Kravitz was on tour and Mariah was vacationing with the couple's twins Moroccan and Monroe.

"Although Nick was upset at the time, he let it go," said the insider. "But now that Mariah's actively campaigning to get Lenny on ‘Idol,' he's convinced that she has more history with Lenny than she's let on. and it's eating away at him!"

As The ENQUIRER previously  reported, Nick's already unhappy about Mariah taking the "Idol" job because it competes directly with his show.