He has said that his daughter Hailie was his biggest inspiration when he was broke and started out as a rapper in run-down Detroit.
But while Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, clearly put his child first, the same cannot be said of his own father, who abandoned him shortly after he was born.
The 50-year-old musician was not approached directly by his father Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. until 2001, at the height of his career. However, Eminem refused to listen to his estranged parent.
Mathers Jr., who passed away in June 2019 at age 67, isn’t the only family member to have rejected the rapper — with his younger paternal half-sister Sarah Mathers, whom Eminem has never met, despite attempts to do so.
Sarah, who lives in California, allegedly tried to meet her famous brother at one of his concerts before being rejected. According to her, she only discovered his identity in 2005 Hello!.
He has said that his daughter Hailie was his biggest inspiration when he was broke and started out as a rapper in run-down Detroit. But while Eminem (pictured in January 2020), whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, clearly put his child first, the same can’t be said for his own father, who abandoned him shortly after he was born.
Sarah, who is now believed to be 41 years old, couldn’t believe it when she found out she was related to Eminem as a young adult.
She was reportedly at a family barbecue when her father saw Eminem on TV and involuntarily noticed the resemblance between the musician and his paternal half-brother Michael.
Sarah remembered, via Contactmusic.com“I knew all my life I had another brother, but Eminem? They would joke. I giggled at the thought of it and then went back to the rest of my family.
“But when my dad saw the resemblance between the two men (Eminem and half-brother Michael), he didn’t brush it off.
“He called his great-aunt Edna, who had taken care of Daddy’s oldest son before he divorced his ex-wife, and she told him it was Marshall Mathers. Eminem was my brother.’
But when Sarah and her father tried to reach Eminem by trying to meet him backstage at one of his concerts, the artist refused to meet them, according to the rapper’s mother, Debbie. AmoMama.
TMZ reported that Sarah’s father Mathers Jr. suffered a heart attack while at home near Fort Wayne, Indiana. He passed away in June 2019 at the age of 67.
Eminem regularly raps about being abandoned by his biological father and never meeting him in person.
The 50-year-old musician was not contacted directly by his father Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr. until 2001, during the height of his career. (pictured together after the rapper was born). However, Eminem refused to listen to his estranged parent
Mathers Jr. (pictured in Los Angeles in 2000), who died in June 2019 at age 67, isn’t the only family member to have rejected the rapper. So
His songs My Name Is and Cleanin’ Out My Closet contain lyrics about his resentment towards his father.
Eminem’s mother Debbie married Bruce when she was just 15 and he was 22 and they welcomed their son two years later – but separated shortly after he was born.
While Debbie and Eminem lived between Missouri and Michigan, Bruce moved to California where he started a new family and fathered two children.
Bruce had spoken out in 2001 to say that he had tried to contact his son, but blamed Eminem’s mother for keeping him away.
That year, Bruce told The Mirror: ‘I really want to meet my son and tell him I love him. I’m not interested in his money. I just want to talk to him. I want him to know I’m here for him if he lets me back into his life.”
Sarah (pictured in a magazine article, aged 23 at the time), who lives in California, allegedly tried to meet her famous brother at one of his concerts, before being rejected. She didn’t discover his identity until 2005, according to Hello!
Around the same time, Eminem said of his estranged father, “I don’t know anything about my dad and I don’t care.”
Eminem – the father of Hailie Scott Mathers, whom he shares with ex-wife Kim – has said in previous interviews that he would write letters to his father as a child, but that they would come back “return to sender.”
In Cleanin’ Out My Closet he raps ‘My fa***t daddy must’ve had his panties in a bunch’ ‘Cause he broke up, I wonder if he even kissed me goodbye / No, not on reflection “I just wish he would die.” I look at Hailie and I can’t imagine leaving her side.’
Meanwhile, Eminem and his mother Debbie, 67, have endured a strained relationship that has played out in the public eye since the rapper rose to fame more than 25 years ago.
During their troubled relationship, Eminem referenced his mother on the My Name Is track from the 1999 album The Slim Shady LP.
In the song My Name Is, the rapper claimed that his mother “did more dope than” he did.
Debbie responded to her son by suing him for $11 million, alleging defamation of character.
The rapper and record producer’s attorney subsequently released a statement on behalf of his client, saying the lawsuit was the “result of a lifelong strained relationship” between the couple.
The lawsuit ended with Debbie receiving $25,000, most of which went to her attorney.