Eminem’s Half-Brother Nate Breaks Silence on Mom Debbie Nelson’s Death: ‘Mixed Emotions’ 

Eminem’s half-brother, Nathan “Nate Kane” Mathers, reacted to their mother Debbie Nelson’s death following her battle with lung cancer.

“Hatred and mixed emotions today,” Nate, 38, wrote via his Instagram Story on Tuesday, December 3, seemingly referring to his mother’s passing.

Nate issued that statement just one day after TMZ confirmed that Debbie died at the age of 69 on Monday, December 2, in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Debbie died just three months after In Touch exclusively reported that she was “terminally ill with advanced lung cancer” in September.

The source explained that there were “not many options” for her at the time. “She is currently staying between the cancer center and with family members. She has a very limited amount of time [left],” the insider added.

The source claimed that Eminem and Debbie weren’t in contact amid her illness, and “people around her aren’t even sure if Eminem is even aware of what is happening to his mother.”

“He’s good to his mom. He makes sure he takes care of her, but they don’t really talk,” the insider continued, adding that he helped her out financially. “It would be good for both of them [to communicate]. This could give them the chance to reconcile.”

Debbie welcomed Eminem, 52, with then-husband Marshall Bruce Mathers in October 1972. She went on to welcome Nate with a man named Fred Samara Jr. in 1986, though they split before their son was born.

The “Lose Yourself” rapper and Debbie had a strained relationship over the years, which she detailed in her 2007 memoir, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem.

Meanwhile, she sued Eminem – whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III – in 1999 for defamation after he implied that she did drugs in one of his songs. The matriarch requested $11 million and was granted $25,000, though she only received about $1,600 once she paid off her legal fees.

The mother-son duo seemed to make amends when Eminem apologized for the issues they faced in their relationship in his 2013 track “Headlights.”

Nearly a decade later, Debbie publicly congratulated Eminem when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.

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

While Nate has broken his silence regarding Debbie’s death, Eminem has not yet publicly reacted to her passing.

It’s not clear what Nate and Debbie’s relationship looked like in recent years. However, they faced their own issues and Nate was placed into foster care when he was just 8 years old. Eminem later adopted Nate when the younger brother was just 16 years old.

Despite their ups and downs, Debbie previously expressed her interest in working through her issues with her sons. “I’m not ever gonna give up on my kids,” she told the Village Voice in 2008. “There’s hope for everybody. It’s a matter of just basically swallowing your pride.”