‘Hatred’: Eminem’s brother Nate Mathers says he is feeling ‘hatred and mixed emotions’ following their mother’s death
Eminem’s half-brother Nathan Mathers has appeared to lash out at his mother after her death at the age of 69, saying he is feeling “hatred and mixed emotions” in a social media post.
Debbie Nelson, 69, died after a battle with advanced lung cancer in St. Joseph, Missouri on Tuesday evening, TMZ reported.
Eminem’s representative, Dennis Dennehy, confirmed her passing.
Eminem’s half-brother Nate Mathers has said he is feeling “hatred” in a statement following the death of their mother, Debbie Nelson. Picture: Instagram
Nate Mathers wrote a statement over a black background. Picture: Instagram
Nelson was 18 when she and high school sweetheart Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. welcomed the ‘Lose Yourself’ hitmaker (born Marshall Mathers III) in 1972.
She and her then-boyfriend Fred Samra Jr. later became parents to Nate in 1986, when Eminem was 14.
On Wednesday, Nate seemed to take a parting shot on his Instagram Stories.
“Hatred and mixed emotions today,” he wrote over a black background.
Eminem has yet to release a statement, and his relationship with his mother at the time of her death is unknown.
Nelson was 18 when she and high school sweetheart Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. welcomed the ‘Lose Yourself’ hitmaker (born Marshall Mathers III) in 1972. Picture: AP
The brothers are understood to have developed a rocky relationship with her following a poverty-stricken childhood.
Eminem frequently moved between states with his mother after his father abandoned him as a baby and became heartbroken when Nate was placed into foster care at age eight.
“I watched him when he was in the foster home. He was so confused. I mean, I cried just going to see him at the foster home,” Eminem told Rolling Stone in 2004.
“The day he was taken away, I was the only one allowed to see him. They had come and got him out of school. He didn’t know what the f*** was going on. The same thing that had happened in my life was happening in his.
Eminem frequently moved between states with his mother after his father abandoned him as a baby and became heartbroken when Nate was placed into foster care at age eight. Picture: Leon Bennett/ Getty Images North America/ AFP
“…When he was taken away, I always said if I ever got in a position to take him, I would take him.
Eminem successfully gained custody over then-16-year-old Nate nearly a decade after his first attempt failed.
Now, Nate acknowledges his half-brother as an influential figure in his life.
“He was the best role model I could have had to help me be the dad that I am today,” he told Eminem’s daughter Hailie Jade on her podcast ‘Just a Little Shady’ in 2023.
In his 2013 song ‘Headlights,’ Eminem rehashed his love for his mother and apologised to her for some of his songs’ lyrics, specifically in ‘Cleanin’ Out My Closet.’
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Ms Nelson also publicly paid tribute to her son when he was admitted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, although it was later retracted.
The news of her passing comes three months after it was revealed the 69-year-old was “terminally ill with advanced lung cancer”.
“There are not many options (for Debbie),” a source told InTouch Weekly in September.
“She is currently staying between the cancer centre and with family members. She has a very limited amount of time (left).”
Eminem’s 67-year-old father died in 2019 after suffering a heart attack.
