Eminem had a rocky relationship with his mother. Photos: AP
Eminem’s mother, Debbie Nelson, has died from lung cancer complications, according to a report. She was 69.
Nelson died on Monday night in St. Joseph, Missouri, just months after her diagnosis was revealed to the public, TMZ reported. In September, a source told that InTouch Weekly the she was “terminally ill with advanced lung cancer,” and that her famous son had yet to visit her at the time.
“There are not many options [for Debbie],” the source added. “She is currently staying between the cancer center and with family members. She has a very limited amount of time [left].”
The rapper, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, has not shied away over the years from discussing his rocky relationship with his mother. In his 1999 track My Name Is, Eminem claimed Nelson “does more dope than I do.” He also seemingly put her on blast for abuse and neglect in his 2002 track Cleanin’ Out My Closet.
Nelson, who is also mother to Nathan Samra-Mathers, went on to sue her son for defamation. While a judge ruled in her favour, she was only granted US$25,000 of the US$11mil she’d requested, ABC News reported. What’s more, the bulk of the settlement — US$23,354.25 — went toward lawyer fees, leaving Nelson with around US$1,600.
Speaking with the Village Voice nearly a decade later, Nelson said she’d consider forgiving her son and moving forward with their relationship.
“There’s hope for everybody,” she said at the time. “It’s a matter of just basically swallowing your pride. It’s like a cashed check. It’s over, it’s done. You need to move on.”
In 2013, Eminem sparked rumours of a reconciliation with his mother upon the release of his track, Headlights. In it, he says, “And I’m mad I didn’t get the chance to thank you for being my mom and my dad,” later adding “So Mom, please accept this as a tribute I wrote on this jet.”
Nelson was born in 1955 on a military base in Kansas, where she lived with her “large dysfunctional family,” according to her 2008 memoir, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem. She was just 16 when she married Eminem’s father, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr., and two years later, the rapper was born.
The Grammy-winner’s estranged father died in 2019 at 67. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
