Tragic Details About Eminem

This article contains references to bullying, drug use, suicide, domestic abuse, and child abuse.

Ever since his controversial 1999 debut album "The Slim Shady LP," the world has been uncomfortably privy to many tragic details about Eminem. Having grown up in an unstable household, further hampered by financial difficulties, the rapper — real name Marshall Mathers — faced myriad personal setbacks and difficulties which had a devastating impact on the rest of his life (via Rolling Stone). As he once famously said to the Detroit Free Press, tragedy always had a way of finding him. "Whenever something good happens, the bad always follows," he said. "That's the story of my life since the day I was born" (via Salon). 

Regardless, the hip hop artist poured every drop of his struggles into his music, creating aggressive alter-egos with which to dissect and express these painful aspects of his existence — often with controversial results that he defended in an interview with The New York Times, arguing that his lyrical intentions are often misunderstood. "My fans, and people who genuinely listen to hip-hop and love it for the art form, they know what's Eminem, what's Marshall, and what's Shady."

There's arguably a fine line between all three. However, the inspiration for some of his more hard-hitting and divisive lyrics can most certainly be found within these tragic moments in Eminem's life.

During his difficult childhood, Eminem found himself struggling for stability as he moved from one city to the next with such frequency that he "would change schools two, three times a year" — a factor, he told Anderson Cooper on "60 Minutes," which contributed to him suffering intense violence on campus. "I was beat up in the bathrooms, in the hallways, shoved in the lockers," he said, "for the most part for being the new kid."

The bullying he endured was so bad that in 1982, Eminem's mom, Debbie Nelson, sued the Detroit school board for failing to adequately protect the 9-year-old from violence (via The Smoking Gun.) Her concerns were certainly warranted given that one particular assault was so severe that the rapper "was hospitalized for four days for a cerebral hemorrhage" which left him with serious cognitive trauma, according to Nelsons' memoir, "My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem" (via MTV).

Eminem made reference to the incident in the song "Brain Damage," where he described the grisly assault in graphic detail, along with the name of his alleged abuser, DeAngelo Bailey — who (ironically) would try to sue the rapper for damages (via MTV). Regardless, Bailey copped to the violence in an interview with Salon where he was described as being "amused" over his former bullying, saying, "Damn, that must have scarred him for life." Bailey's case was dismissed in 2003 (via Rolling Stone). 

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If you're familiar with Eminem's early work, then you'll know that the MC was never one to be polite about stories concerning his mom, Debbie Nelson. Be it on songs like "My Name Is" or "Cleanin' Out My Closet" or in a variety of confessional interviews with publications like Rolling Stone, Eminem stuck to one narrative: alleging that his mom was an excessive user of prescription drugs whose behavior was abusive toward him.

In 1999, Nelson subsequently filed a $10 million slander suit against her son, alleging that his depiction of her had caused various forms of emotional and financial damage (via MTV). Eminem's lawyer argued to MTV that everything the rapper alleged could be "verified as true" and that his life is "reflected in his music." In 2001, her defamation lawsuit resulted in a $25,000 settlement — of which the judge ruled $23,354 should be paid to her former lawyer.

The settlement was small, and it certainly didn't stop Eminem from spitting his truth. Further claims in the song "My Mom," off his sobriety album "Relapse," alleged that Nelson was responsible for his lifelong struggle with drug abuse. The rapper accused his mom of bullying him as a child and of sprinkling Valium into his food (via Genius). In previous songs, he'd likewise accused his mom of Munchhausen syndrome, rapping, "My whole life I was made to believe I was sick when I wasn't" (via YouTube).

If you or someone you know may be the victim of child abuse, please contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

According to Debbie Nelson, she and her son had to escape from Eminem's father, Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr., when the rapper was just 2 years old (via Salon), due to his dad's behavior. The MC lived without any contact with his father, with Nelson recalling that Eminem had written his dad letters which were subsequently "returned ... unopened with the words 'not known at this address' written across them" (via "My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem"). 

Nelson further alleged in her memoir that Eminem's dad "came out of the woodwork" the second that his son became a superstar. It certainly appeared that way. In 2001, Mathers even published an open letter to his estranged son in the tawdry British tabloid News of the World, where he claimed that Eminem had "been fed lies" his entire life and that he spent "six weeks looking everywhere" for his wife and son. He also noted that he wasn't looking to reconnect in a bid for a "handout" (via Brobible).

Sadly for him, Eminem didn't buy the excuses for his absence. "If my kids moved to the edge of the earth, I'd find them," he told "60 Minutes" in response. "[Even] if I had nothing, I would find my kids." Despite expressing his desire to make peace with his estranged son, Mathers died at age 67 without having done so — something an insider told Radar was reportedly "one of his biggest fears." 

In the absence of his father, Eminem's "male role models" growing up were his uncles, Ronnie Polkingharn and Todd Nelson, according to Salon. Of the two, the rapper was said to be closest to Polkingharn — a man not much older than him, who "introduced his nephew to rap." According to the unofficial biography "The Dark Story of Eminem," Polkingharn sadly died of suicide in 1991, when the rapper was 19. He spoke to Rolling Stone of his devastation. "I didn't talk for days," he said. "I couldn't even go to the funeral." 

The rap superstar was still so cut-up about the tragedy that he tried to pay tribute to his late uncle in 1999 by sampling his voice for a track. His grandmother protested the use of Polkingharn's voice on any of Eminem's songs, telling the Detroit News, "I will not let my grandson destroy my dead son with this garbage" (via MTV News). The rapper defended himself to the newspaper and said, "I loved Ronnie ... I wanted to pay tribute to him."

Eminem was also close to his other uncle — Todd Nelson — whom People similarly described as being "a father figure" to him. Sadly, the two were reported as having become estranged in later years after a falling out. In 2004, the publication reported that Nelson had committed suicide after being arrested for attempting to run over a dog.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

On top of throwing confessional digs at his absent father and allegedly dysfunctional mother, 1999's "The Slim Shady LP" also saw Eminem dedicating two entire songs — "Kim" and "'97 Bonnie & Clyde" — to the fantasy of murdering his wife, Kim Scott. While Rolling Stone accused the unsettling tune of being "an insane stream-of-consciousness hate spew," a later Rolling Stone appraisal suggested it was "nonsense" to think the song advocated for domestic violence, as Eminem is apparently smarter than that. 

Whatever the intention of the song, it had a negative impact on Scott, who attempted suicide a year after the album's release (via BBC). According to Salon, she reportedly told police, "There has got to be a better place than this," which led the website to speculate that she had actually suffered in her relationship with the rapper and that some of his lyrics were more than mere words. Scott's account of how the song affected her certainly suggested as much.

In an interview with People, Eminem's ex-wife recounted how seeing the rapper singing a song about her onstage while beating a blow-up doll which bore a resemblance to her destroyed her sense of self-worth. "Seeing the crowd's response and everybody cheering, singing the words and laughing," she said, "I knew that it was about me and that night I went home and I tried to commit suicide."

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.

The same year that Eminem's ex-wife felt driven to self-harm by his work, the rapper also found himself in hot water with the law. He might have had the No. 1 album in the country at the time, but MTV News reported that he was also facing four criminal charges relating to various weapons charges.

According to the site, one charge stemmed from Eminem allegedly pulling out an unlicensed firearm during an argument with an associate of "rival Detroit rap act" Insane Clown Posse. Another saw the rapper being charged with assault with a dangerous weapon on top of one count of carrying a concealed weapon when he allegedly attacked a man he saw kissing his ex-wife, Kim Scott.

Despite facing a maximum of five years in prison, Eminem received a lenient sentence of two years probation — with a further order for the rapper to receive counseling and submit himself to drug testing (via ABC News). The leniency of his sentence spurred controversy, with cultural critic Michael Datcher opining that the "different kind of justice" the white rapper received was unfair when "African Americans have been sent to jail for years for less severe crimes." He told the BBC, "It's as if you're saying it's okay to abuse people if you're a hip hop star with a major contract and you're white."

Be it in his song lyrics or the reports about his allegedly turbulent lifestyle and relationships, there were clues from the very start of his career that Eminem struggled with drug dependency issues. During an interview with Vibe, the rapper opened up about how his "drug problem" was an open secret, with him confessing to taking "anywhere between 10 to 20" prescription pills per day, including Vicodin, Valium, and Ambien (via US Weekly).

His excessive drug use came to a head in 2007 when he almost died after a methadone overdose. The incident forced him to get clean and gave him a new perspective on his own troubled family history. "It never once hit me that drug addiction runs in my family," he told Vibe. "Now that I understand that I'm an addict, I definitely have compassion for my mother. I get it" (via US Weekly). 

Eminem subsequently got sober in 2008 and released the critically panned album "Relapse" a year later. While the album was centered around his recovery, the rapper confessed to The Guardian that it was full of "jokey s***" because he was "still working the drugs out of my system" when he wrote it. In 2021, he proudly celebrated receiving his 12 years sobriety coin in an Instagram post he captioned, "Clean dozen, in the books! I'm not afraid."

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

As he revealed to Rolling Stone, the death of one of his oldest and closest friends "had a lot to do with" his deepening spiral into heavy prescription drug use. In 2006, Detroit rapper Proof — a member of D12 alongside Eminem — was shot and killed at a local nightclub (via MTV News).

Eminem paid tribute to his late friend, who he described as an "ambassador of Detroit hip-hop," in a statement published by MTV News. "Proof and I were brothers," he said. "He pushed me to become who I am. Without Proof's guidance and encouragement there would have been a Marshall Mathers, but probably not an Eminem and certainly never a Slim Shady." The Oscar-nominated actor and hip hop star further urged people to remember the way his "best friend" lived, as opposed to "focusing on the way he died."

As an in-depth look at the life and death of Proof by The Guardian noted, the Shady family MC "was represented in two ways" in the Eminem biopic "8 Mile" — first, by depicting the MC who trips Eminem's Rabbit over his own rhymes in the film's formative rap battle scene and second as an inspiration for the character of Future (depicted by actor Mekhi Phifer), the rapper who encourages Rabbit to find and use his voice. He was an instrumental and central part of Eminem's personal and professional life, and understandably, his death was crushing to the rapper.

In 2009, the untimely and tragic death of Brittany Murphy would shock the world. The "8 Mile" and "Clueless" star was just 32 years old when she died of what was originally reported as being "natural causes" (via CNN) and was later determined to be complications connected to severe anemia and prescription medication, according to the autopsy report (via Today).

Once upon a time, there were rumors of an on-set romance between Murphy and Eminem, with the rapper coyly telling MTV News that they "became friends ... I'll say that," when pressed on the matter of romance between the two. Murphy would likewise dodge the topic during interviews. However, her sweetness on the topic of Eminem spoke volumes about their relationship, such as the MTV News interview where she simply gushed, "he's one of the most funny, honest, professional, hard-working actors I've ever worked with, if not the most."

Speaking to Vibe in 2010, Eminem suggested that he was understandably saddened by Murphy's death and also suggested that they shared a deep connection. When asked to reveal what his thoughts were when he heard she'd died, he said, "It was crazy. It's crazy. It's crazy because at one point we were very close and she was a really good person." He also raised his concerns regarding the nature of her death in regards to the prescriptions she was on and how doctors seem happy to prescribe "certain things" to celebrities. "Famous people are overdosing at alarming rates," he said.

Not every tragic detail about Eminem stems from his lifestyle and relationships, however. In 2020, the star was victim to a home invasion which saw an intruder slipping past his security and entering his living room, according to TMZ. The website reported that 26-year-old suspect Matthew Hughes used a paving stone to smash a kitchen window and then climbed inside Eminem's Detroit home. 

The invasion reportedly took place at 4am, with Eminem coming face-to-face with the intruder in his living room after being woken by his alarm. According to testimony given in court by a police officer, the home invader told Eminem that "he was there to kill him." However, it was also noted that the suspect did not arrive with a weapon on his person (via Detroit Free Press).  Thankfully, nobody was hurt during the incident, and Eminem was able to escort the intruder safely off his property before police arrived. 

According to police reports, this may not have been the suspect's first attempt to track down the star. In 2019, he was arrested for trespassing on two other properties — one of which had been owned by Eminem (via TMZ). In 2021, Hughes pleaded no contest to a reduced charge of second-degree home invasion and received a sentence of time served and five years probation (via Macomb Daily).