Eminem performs a song that mentions his late mom Debbie

Eminem’s lyrics may hit differently now that his mother has passed away. The rapper performed at the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix five days after his mom Debbie Nelson died at the age of 69 after a battle with lung cancer, where he sang one of his famous songs with a lyric about her. 

The 52-year-old rapper had a complicated past with his mother and spoke about her in songs like “My Mom” (1999), “My Name Is,” (1999), “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” (2002), and “Without Me” (2002). Per Page Six, when he performed “Without Me” which includes the lyric “F**k Debbie” Eminem notably stayed quiet while some fans sang it. 

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As Eminem rose to superstardom, the rapper accused her of neglecting and abusing alcohol and drugs in his famous songs. In 1999, she sued him for defamation, seeking $10 million, ultimately winning a $25,000 settlement. 

The lawsuit, however, didn’t stop Eminem from singing about her. In the 2002 track “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” he blasted his mom from beginning to end, even saying he was a victim of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, saying, “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.”

 In her 2008 memoir, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem, Debbie shared her heartbreak over their estrangement and claimed she wanted to set the record straight. 

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Their relationship seemed to change after Debbie was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. In 2013, Eminem publicly apologized to her in his song “Headlights,” acknowledging that she did the best she could. He also vowed to stop performing “Cleanin’ Out My Closet.” “But I’m sorry mama, for ‘Cleanin’ Out My Closet,’ at the time I was angry. That song I no longer play at shows, and I cringe every time it’s on the radio,” he sings.

While Eminem and his mom may have been on better terms, it may not be the same for his half-brother Nate. When the news broke, Nate shared a black screen on his Instagram story with the message: “Hatred and mixed emotions today.”