Debbie Nelson passes away at 69 (Photo Credit – Facebook/Instagram)
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Eminem’s mother, Debbie Nelson, known for her strained relationship with the popular rapper and frequently referenced through his hit songs, has breathed her last at the age of 69. It has been reported that Nelson died from complications related to lung cancer on the evening of Monday, December 2, in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Debbie Nelson’s Relationship with Eminem is No Secret
Nelson’s turbulent relationship with Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, has been an open chapter since the rapper’s popularity.
Eminem hit out his mother in his 2002 hit ‘Cleaning Out My Closet,’ where he sings, “Witnessin’ your momma poppin’ prescription pills in the kitchen. Bitchin’ that someone’s always goin’ through her purse, and shit’s missin’. Goin’ through public housing systems, a victim of Münchausen’s Syndrome. My whole life, I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn’t.”
The song ‘Cleaning Out My Closet’ eventually led to Nelson suing the 52-year-old for $11 million for defamation.
According to ABC News, even though the judge ruled in Nelson’s favor, she was awarded only $25,000 of the 11 million dollars she requested. After legal fees, she ultimately received around $1600.
Debbie Nelson Considered Reconciling with Eminem
In a 2008 interview with The Village Voice, Nelson considered reconciling with her son. “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 released ‘Headlights,’ many fans speculated that the song served as an apology to his mother.
“And I’m mad I didn’t get the chance to thank you for being my mom and my dad,” he sings in one part of the song. “So, Mom, please accept this as a tribute I wrote on this jet.”
Debbie Nelson’s Early Life
Born in 1955 in a military base in Kansas, Nelson grew up in a “large dysfunctional family,” as her 2008 memoir My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem describes. Her parents’ separation before she turned 10 left her with the burden of caring for her four younger siblings.
Nelson married Eminem’s father, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. when she was only 16 years old, and a couple of years later, in 1972, welcomed the ‘Lose Yourself’ rapper.
Debbie Nelson Celebrated Her Son from Afar in Recent Years
In recent years, Nelson celebrated her son from a distance. She congratulated Eminem online when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
“Marshall, I want to say I could not let this day go by without congratulating you on your induction into the Hall of Fame,” she said in a since-deleted video. “I love you very much. I knew you’d get there. It’s been a long ride,” added Nelson at the time. “I’m very, very proud of you.”
