Eminem’s song Cleanin’ Out My Closet has a lyric that would hit differently after his mother Debbie Nelson’s death at the age of 69.

Eminem’s mother Debbie Nelson passed away at the age of 69 after battling lung cancer on Monday.
Eminem and his brother Nate Mathers didn’t share a good relationship with their mother, and it was public knowledge.
The singer bashed her mother in his songs, but the gut-wrenching lyrics in Cleanin’ Out My Closet hit differently after Nelson’s death.

Eminem has yet to come out with a statement after his mother Debbie Nelson passed away on December 2 after battling lung cancer. The singer and Nelson did not share a great relationship after Eminem portrayed her as a drug addict and an unstable influence in his life. In his 2002 track, Cleanin’ Out My Closet, the singer wrote some gut-wrenching lyrics about his mother.

Eminem in the music video of Lose Yourself | Credits: Shady/Interscope

Eminem first opened up about his mother’s issues in the 1999 rap My Name Is. Nelson filed a lawsuit against her son, claiming that he defamed her in the song. She sought $10 million in damages and won the lawsuit, only to be paid a mere $1,646 after legal fees.

Eminem’s Lyrics Hit Different After Debbie Nelson’s Death

Debbie Nelson | Credits: @shadyverse/Instagram

Eminem‘s mother Debbie Nelson died at the age of 69. As per TMZ, she passed away due to complications related to lung cancer on Monday, December 2. In September, a source had told In Touch Weekly that she was “terminally ill with advanced lung cancer.” While Eminem hasn’t responded to the news, his younger brother Nate Mathers took to Instagram stories and wrote, “Hatred and mixed emotions today” (via Cinemablend).

Eminem and his brother did not share a great relationship with their mother. He had opened up about her drug issues in his songs. Nelson had responded to her son’s allegations with lawsuits and even counter-raps. Eminem’s heartbreaking song Cleanin’ Out My Closet goes deeper into his relationship with his mother. He repeated in the chorus of the song:

I’m sorry, Mama, I never meant to hurt you, I never meant to make you cry, but tonight I’m cleanin’ out my closet.

However, it is the line mentioning his brother and his daughter, that hits differently after Nelson’s death. He shared in the lyrics to the 2002 song that his mother would be cold and lonely when she got older. He shared that his brother Nathan Mathers would recognize that she was a phony. He finally added that his daughter Hailie would never see her and wouldn’t attend her funeral. He shared in the lyrics:

But guess what, you’re gettin’ older now, and it’s cold when you’re lonely. And Nathan’s growin’ up so quick, he’s gonna know that you’re phony. And Hailie’s gettin’ so big now, you should see her, she’s beautiful. But you’ll never see her, she won’t even be at your funeral.

In 2009, he released the song My Mom from his sixth album Relapse, with further allegations of his mother’s drug issues. However, he seemed to have a change of heart by 2013 after his own addiction struggles. In the song Headlights from his album The Marshall Mathers LP 2, he wrote some apologetic lines addressing his mother.

He admitted that he took it far with the lyrics of Cleanin’ Out My Closet and other songs. He shared that he loved her regardless, adding, “You’re still beautiful to me, ‘cause you’re my mom.” It appeared that there was some sort of reconciliation between the mother and the son.

Debbie Nelson Filed Lawsuit Against Her Own Son For Defamation

Eminem in a still from 8 Mile | Credits: Universal Pictures

Debbie Nelson sought $11 million in damages accusing Eminem of defaming her in his song My Name Is. In the song from the album The Slim Shady LP, Eminem rapped:

I just found out my mom does more dope than I do. I told her I’d grow up to be a famous rapper. Make a record about doin’ drugs and name it after her.

He did become a famous rapper as mentioned in the song and My Name Is had a great deal to do with it. The Slim Shady sold 283,000 copies in its first week of sale, making him a star. Nelson’s case against her son was settled in 2001 for just $25,000. However, the judge ordered that she pay her attorney $23,354, leaving her with just $1,646 (via The Independent).

Nelson went on to join forces with the rap group Identity Unknown, aka ID-X, to respond to Eminem’s allegations through a rap. The resulting single, Set The Record Straight, included lines telling her son to take “responsibility for your own life.”

The singer’s Cleanin’ Out My Closet was a direct response to his mother’s song. Her relationship with Eminem allegedly improved over the years. In 2022, when Eminem was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, she celebrated it from afar, posting a congratulatory tweet (via People).

Debbie Nelson wrote the 2008 autobiography, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem. Eminem was born to Nelson’s high school sweetheart Marshall Bruce Mathers while Nate was born to a man named Fred Sarma Jr.