What Happened To Eminem’s Mom Debbie Nelson After He Bashed Her In His Angriest Songs?

After Eminem bashed his mom, Debbie Nelson, in several of his best songs, her life has seemingly changed in unexpected ways.

Highlights

Eminem’s early songs contained lyrics that bashed his mother, Debbie Nelson, and their relationship was tarnished by public feuding and legal battles.
Over the years, Eminem has expressed remorse for his words and has made efforts to reconcile with his mother, showing a much-improved relationship between them.
Nelson, who is still alive and in her late-60s, has largely retreated from the public eye and her current endeavors, such as her reported taxi service and marriage, remain speculative. However, she recently celebrated her son’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and expressed pride in him and her granddaughter, Hailie Jade.

For many music fans all over the world, it has been fascinating to see how Eminem has grown as an artist and person. After coming across as an angry young man for years, Eminem now appears to be in a much better place as he is more focused on supporting his children as they get married and grow.

Now that fans get to see how much Eminem seems to adore his children, they are bound to juxtapose that against his relationship with his mother. With that in mind, it begs an obvious question, what has happened to Eminem’s mom, Debbie Nelson?

The History Of Eminem Feuding With His Mother

During the early days of Eminem’s career taking off, many observers were shocked by his lyrics for a myriad of different reasons. One of the most remarkable elements of many of Eminem’s earlier songs is that he went out of his way to bash his mom Debbie Nelson.

Some examples of Eminem songs where the rapper called out his mom include “My Name Is”, “Role Model”, “Kill You”, “My Mom”, “Without Me”, “Marshall Mathers”, and “Criminal”. However, by far the most infamous example of Eminem using his music to rant about his mom comes from his song “Cleanin’ Out My Closet”.

In “Cleanin’ Out My Closet”, Eminem lyrically unleashes about his difficult childhood. While Eminem apologizes to his mom in the chorus, he spends much of the rest of the song ripping Nelson apart.

Related: Hailie Jade Thought Her Childhood Was Normal Growing Up, But Looking Back, She Realized It Wasn’t

Nelson eventually wound up suing her own son for defamation seeking $11 million. In the end, Nelson actually won her case, but she was only awarded $25,000 by Macomb County Circuit Court Judge Mark Switalski. If that wasn’t disappointing enough for her, the judge later ruled that Nelson would only get $1,600 with the rest of that money going to her lawyer.

Nelson later responded to her son publicly by recording and releasing the song “Dear Marshall”. In the song’s lyrics, Nelson defended herself against the claims her son had made about her in his music.

Where Is Eminem’s Mom Now?

Looking back at when Eminem and Debbie Nelson were publicly feuding, it is pretty clear that she did a couple of things that kept her in the spotlight. However, Nelson mostly was put into a position to be judged by the masses against her will because of his lyrics about her.

Even though most people are willing to judge people who are in the public eye, the truth is that they would wilt under that kind of pressure. With that in mind, it makes perfect sense that after years of being harshly judged, Nelson seems to avoid the spotlight now.

Since Nelson disappeared from the public eye, it is impossible to know for sure what she is up to now. However, it is possible to get some idea of what Nelson has been up to in recent years based on the few tidbits that have come out about her.

Easily the most fascinating thing about Nelson for Eminem’s fans is the relationship she has with her famous son. Fortunately for everyone involved, it appears that Eminem and Nelson have been on good terms for a long time.

Related: Kim Scott Earned Almost $500,000 From Her Eminem Divorce Settlement, Here’s What She Really Spent It On

For many fans, the first indication that Eminem and Nelson were healing their relationship came in 2014. When Eminem released his song “Headlights”, part of the lyrics were an apology to Nelson about what he’d said about her in public.

“I went in headfirst, never thinkin’ about who, what I said hurt. In what verse, my mom probably got it the worst. The brunt of it, but as stubborn as we are, did I take it too far? “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” and all them other songs. But regardless, I don’t hate you ’cause, Ma. You’re still beautiful to me, ’cause you’re my Ma.”

However, according to a 2006 The Irish Examiner report, Eminem’s relationship with his mom was getting better for years before that. When Nelson was fighting stage four breast cancer in 2006, Eminem reportedly paid for her medical bills.

After news of Nelson battling breast cancer made the rounds, there was a rumor that she’d passed away. Thankfully for Nelson and her loved ones, that isn’t the case, and she is still alive and in her late-’60s as of this writing.

According to a 2021 report published by The Sun, Nelson was married to a man named John Briggs at that time. While there is no way to know for sure if Nelson and Briggs are still together, there hasn’t been any news of a split.

A website called The Famous People also reported that Nelson became a business owner. However, since that isn’t a well-known website, fans should take the news that Nelson “now runs a taxi service in her hometown of St. Joseph, Missouri” with a grain of salt.

Related: Did Eminem And Machine Gun Kelly’s Feud Actually Make Them Both An Outlandish Amount Of Money?

What can be confirmed is that Nelson took a moment to celebrate Eminem in 2022. When Eminem was set to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Nelson appeared in a video that was uploaded on social media. In the clip, Nelson congratulated Eminem and expressed how proud she is of him.

“Marshall, I want to say, I could not let this day go by without congratulating you on your induction into the Hall of Fame. I love you very much. I knew you’d get there. It’s been a long ride. I’m very, very proud of you.”

Also in the same video, Nelson took a brief moment to talk about her granddaughter Hailie Jade Mathers. Since 2022, Hailie Jade Mathers has been hosting a podcast called “Just A Little Shady” and Nelson praised her efforts.

“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.”