Eminem’s mother, Debbie Nelson, has passed away following her long battle with lung cancer.
The Detroit rapper has not yet publicly reacted to his mother’s death. Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, has had a tumultuous relationship with his mother over the years. TMZ reported on Tuesday that Debbie Nelson passed away on Monday night (December 2) in St. Joseph, Missouri. Eminem’s rep, Dennis Dennehy, confirmed that she passed away due to lung cancer.
Nelson’s cancer diagnosis was first reported in September of this year. By then, her health had reportedly started to deteriorate, with sources saying that she didn’t have much longer to live.
Eminem and his mother’s relationship’s ups and downs are well documented online. In the Aftermath rapper’s early career, he accused Nelson of being an abusive and absentee mother. Em aired out his mom in one of his biggest songs of that era, “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” when he famously raps, “I’m sorry, Mama / I never meant to hurt you / I never meant to make you cry / But tonight I’m cleanin’ out my closet.”
The rebuke saw Nelson suing her son in 1999 for defamation, which only further deteriorated their already strained relationship. She went on to write a tell-all book, “My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem: Setting the Record Straight on My Life as Eminem’s Mother,” detailing her side of the story.
Nevertheless, Eminem and Debbie Nelson have made a concerted effort in recent years to mend their broken relationship, which saw him dedicating a song to her. Em showed a lot of remorse in his 2013 single, “Headlights,” in which he expressed regrets about his past harsh treatment of his mother. It appears that their relationship has significantly improved in recent years, with Deb congratulating her Em in 2022 for his Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
