Eminem hasn't held back in his commentary (via his music and his statements) about his complicated relationship with his mother, Debbie Nelson, over the years. Following her recent death at the age of 69, however, his half-brother Nate Mathers was the first of the two to publicly share a reaction, and he only needed five words to convey his feelings about her passing.
Debbie Nelson died due to complications related to lung cancer on the night of Monday, December 2, in Missouri, according to Dennis Dennehey, Eminem's representative, as reported by TMZ. The news comes after she was diagnosed back in September and said (via In Touch) to be "terminally ill" at the time.
Not long after word of Nelson's death broke on December 3, Nate Mathers posted this on his Instagram Story, in white text against an all-black background:
Hatred and mixed emotions today.
At the time of writing, Eminem – real name Marshall Mathers – himself has not yet posted on social media about his mother's death or in reaction to what his brother himself posted. According to Daily Mail, Nate Mathers did not immediately respond to a request for a comment on his five-word reaction to Debbie Nelson's death. "Mixed emotions" likely won't come as a surprise to anybody aware of the family's story, in light of what has been publicly revealed about the brothers' relationship with their mother.
Naturally, Eminem has gotten the majority of the spotlight in the complicated relationship, although the lyrics to his 2002 song "Cleanin' Out My Closet" explicitly mention both Nate his daughter Hailie. In addition to the chorus, in which he repeated "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," the multi-time SNL musical guest rapped this in a verse aimed at his mom:
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.
While amends seem to have been made to at least some degree by 2013 with the song "Headlights," it's said that they remain estranged for the rest of her life following all of the public back-and-forth and lawsuits. Eminem also certainly had direct insight from his brother on how he was doing as he grew up, as he was able to adopt Nate when he was sixteen years old. The younger brother been placed into foster care nearly ten years earlier at the age of eight, with Eminem trying and failing to get custody when he was just 20 himself.
Nathan Mathers went on to become a music producer and a DJ, with his most recent Instagram post prior to the Story about his mother's death showing him posing with Shaboozey. Other photos include him with singer and Super Bowl Halftime Show alum Usher, rapper/The Expendables 4 actor 50 Cent, and hip hop artist/Olympics enthusiast Flavor Flav. In another recent post unrelated to Debbie Nelson's death, Mathers had another short and to-the-point message:
For now, it remains to be seen if Nate Mathers elaborates on his initial response or if Eminem releases a statement of his own. At this point on the evening of December 3, the rapper's most recent Instagram post is a Cyber Monday promotion of his shop.
