Eminem, known for his rap songs “Rap God” and “Venom,” returned to rap music after his mother, Debbie Nelson, passed away from lung cancer.
In recent performances, Eminem has dropped a lyric that is meant to mock his late mother.
The rapper, 52, performed at the Formula 1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Dec. 7, making his first public appearance since Nelson died five days earlier. Nelson died of complications related to lung cancer on Dec. 2 in St. Joseph, Mo., a representative for the star confirmed to PEOPLE. She was 69. Eminem’s father died in 2019 at age 67.
Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, and his mother have a complicated relationship, and his 2002 hit “Without Me” features a lyric about Nelson in which he raps.
While performing in Abu Dhabi, the star performed the rap, but he chose not to sing the verse, letting the crowd sing it for him, which he often does when performing this song.
The lyrics on his 1999 debut album, “The Slim Shady LP,” reference a $10 million defamation lawsuit that Nelson filed against her son in 1999. Two years later, the case was settled out of court for $25,000, with Nelson’s legal team taking home the lion’s share of the proceeds, according to The New York Times.
Over the years, Eminem has apologized to his mother in song for rapping about their troubled relationship, most notably in his 2002 song “Cleanin’ Out My Closet.” He apologized for harshly criticizing Nelson and accusing her of neglect and abuse.
In his 2013 song “Headlights,” Eminem said he still felt guilty, and rapped “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” which includes the lyrics: “I don’t hate you/Because you’re still beautiful to me/Because you’re my mom.”
Nelson told The Village Voice in 2008 that she “hoped” she and her son would one day reconcile. When he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2022, she congratulated him in a video: “Marshall, I just wanted to say, I couldn’t let this day go by without congratulating you on your induction into the Hall of Fame. I love you so much. I knew you were going to make it. It’s been a long journey, honey. I’m so proud of you.” The video has since been deleted.
Christian Bale, 50, star of films such as “Dune: Part Two” and “Elvis,” will star in “The Dark Knight” and “Ford v Ferrari”) new versions of “American Psycho,” according to Variety.
The upcoming film directed by Luca Guadagnino (director of “Bones and All” and “Challengers”), “American Psycho,” will not be a remake of the bloody 2000 film. The film, starring Bale, is a new adaptation of the controversial 1991 novel by author and screenwriter Bret Easton Ellis.
Bale’s version is set in New York City in 1987 and stars the actor as Patrick Bateman – a handsome Wall Street professional by day and a serial killer by night.
Speaking to PEOPLE in 2019 with his “Ford v Ferrari” (2019) co-star Matt Damon — both of whom are family favorites — Bale admitted that his role in the horror-comedy left his wife’s grandmother… baffled.
Bale and Sibi Bale married in 2000. “When I first married Sibi, her grandmother asked, ‘So your husband is an actor?’ ‘Yes,’ Sibi said. ‘Has he played any roles?’ ‘He was in a movie called American Psycho.’ Then my mother-in-law showed her ‘American Psycho’ with some ‘that’ scenes that made her blush, and they quickly skipped those scenes. And then Sibi’s mother realized that the movie wasn’t family-friendly, so they watched it for 15 minutes and then turned it off.”
On the 20th anniversary of “American Psycho” in 2020, director Mary Harron, along with Ellis, Bale and other cast members, recounted the story in an oral history published by MovieMaker. During the conversation, Harron admitted that Bale’s role almost went to another big name—50-year-old Leonardo DiCaprio (who starred in “Titanic” and “Don’t Look Up”).
“I think DiCaprio is a great actor, but he’s not the right guy for the role,” the 71-year-old director said. “Christian Bale would have been better, and my instincts were right.”
The new version of the film will be released through Lionsgate.
