Debbie Nelson, mother of rapper Eminem, has died at the age of 69

Debbie Nelson, the mother of rapper Eminem and whose difficult relationship with her son was widely known through his hit lyrics, has died. She was 69.

Dennis Dennehy, a representative for Eminem, confirmed Nelson’s death to CBS News Detroit in an email. A cause of death was not given. Nelson had been battling lung cancer.

Nelson’s strained relationship with her son, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, has been no secret since the Detroit rapper became a star.

Eminem denigrated his mother in songs like the 2002 single “Cleaning Out My Closet.” Eminem sings, “Witness your mama popping prescription pills in the kitchen. It’s stupid that someone is always going through her purse and missing shit. I walk through public housing systems, victims of Munchausen syndrome. I’ve been forced to do this all my life.” I think I was sick when I wasn’t.

In the lyrics of his Oscar-winning hit “Lose Yourself” from the film “8 Mile,” his emotions seem to boil, referencing “his mother’s spaghetti.” The song won Best Rap Song at the 2004 Grammy Awards.

Nelson filed and settled two libel lawsuits over Eminem’s statements about her in magazines and on radio talk shows. In her 2008 book, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem, she attempted to set the record straight by providing readers with details about the rapper’s early life.

Eminem won best hip-hop act at the 2024 MTV EMAs earlier this month was introduced Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

Last month he said he was becoming a grandfather and announced his daughter Hailie Jade was pregnant with a touching music video, a tribute to their relationship.