Eminem’s Mother ‘Very, Very Proud’ of His Rock Hall of Fame Induction: ‘I Knew You’d Get There’
Eminem has famously taken a number of pretty vicious swipes against his mother Debbie on songs such as “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” and “My Name Is” (before offering a mea culpa on 2013’s “Headlights”). But that all appears to be water under the bridge now that Marshall is officially a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Related
After the Detroit Don took his place among the rock gods over the weekend at the 2022 RRHOF induction ceremony, Debbie Mathers recorded a congratulations video that was pure proud mama. “Marshall, I want to say, I could not let this day go by without congratulating you on your induction into the Hall of Fame,” said Debbie in a video shared on Monday (Nov. 7) by a friend.
“I love you very much. I knew you’d get there. It’s been a long ride. I’m very, very proud of you. And also I’m very proud of [granddaughter] Hailie Jade, my big girl. I want to tell you Hailie, great job on your podcast and God bless you guys. I love you very much.”
After years of contentious back-and-forth — including a 1999 $12 million lawsuit filed against her son accusing him of slander, which they settled two years later for $25,000 — the sweet message was the perfect cap to a big weekend for Slim Shady. The rapper, joined by daughter Hailie at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles for his big night, alluded to his unusual rise to the occasion in his acceptance speech.
“So I’m probably not supposed to actually be here tonight because of a couple of reasons,” he told the crowd. “One of them that I’m a rapper, and this is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And there’s only a few of us right now that have been inducted in already, but there’s only a few of us… I had to really fight my way through man to try and break through in this music, and I’m so honored and I’m so grateful that I’m even able to be up here doing hip-hop music, man, because I love it so much.”
Em was inducted by his longtime mentor and producer, Dr. Dre, who said he never lost faith in the MC, praising his “raw, dark and humorous lyrics coupled with an impeccable cadence.”
Check out Debbie Mathers’ sweet congratulations video below.
Gil Kaufman
Billboard
