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Eminem‘s mother Debbie Nelson has died at the age of 69 due to lung cancer.
According to TMZ, Nelson passed away on Monday night (December 2) in St. Joseph, Missouri following her battle with the illness.
Eminem has not yet publicly commented on her death.
Debbie’s cancer diagnosis was made public in September, with In Touch Weekly reporting that she was terminally ill and didn’t have long left to live.
The outlet added that Em had been looking after his sick mother financially for a number of years, but had not spoken to her for a long time.
Debbie previously battled breast cancer, telling The Village Voice in 2018: “I’m still under doctor’s care, which I probably will be for a while. Basically a lot of the stuff is hereditary, but that happens.
“Cancers and heart disease and all that, and all the genetic things … I worry about my boys, having high blood pressure and things.”
Eminem (real name Marshall Mathers) and Debbie Nelson had a complicated relationship for years, with the rap icon making his mother a subject in many of his songs.
Debbie sued her son for defamation in 2000 for insinuating that she was a drug addict on his hit song “My Name I.” She attempted to win $10 million in damages but was awarded only $25,000 as part of a settlement.
On his 2013 song “Headlights,” Slim Shady extended an olive branch to his mom, rapping: “Ma, I forgive you, so does Nathan, yo / All you did, all you said, you did your best to raise us both / Foster care, that cross you bear, few may be as heavy as yours / But I love you, Debbie Mathers.”
After Eminem was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, his estranged mother returned the favor by paying tribute to her son.
“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 video posted online. “I love you very much. I knew you’d get there. It’s been a long ride. I’m very, very proud of you.
“And also I’m very proud of Hailie Jade, my big girl. I want to tell you Hailie, great job on your podcast and God bless you guys. I love you very much.”
