Eminem’s Father Reportedly Dead at 67
Written by SOURCE on June 26, 2019
Marshall Bruce Mathers Jr., Eminem‘s biological father, has reportedly died.
TMZ said Wednesday that Mathers—who went by “Bruce” and was a frequent subject in early Eminem lyrics—died this week near Fort Wayne, Indiana. The report cites a source close to the family as saying Em’s believed-to-be-estranged father died following an at-home heart attack.
In 2001, Mathers told the Mirror he wasn’t “interested in [Eminem’s] money” but wanted to speak with him. “I desperately want to meet my son and tell him that I love him,” he reportedly said at the time.
On his Eminem Show cut “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” Em recalled his father’s abandonment, looking back on how his “f****t father must’ve had his panties up in a bunch ’cause he split.” In the same song, he said “I just fuckin’ wished he would die.” The song was bookended years later on the Marshall Mathers LP sequel single “Headlights,” a Nate Ruess-featuring reassessment of “Cleanin’ Out My Closet” which saw Em apologizing to his mother, Debbie Mathers, and thanking her for “being my Mom and my Dad.”
This story is being updated.
