Mariah Carey has provided her perspective on the alleged ‘feud’ with rapper Eminem, stating she is indifferent about whether recent remarks have reignited their supposed conflict.
Earlier this year, Damion ‘Damizza’ Young shared with TFU podcast listeners that Carey, 56, and Marshall Mathers, 52, had a falling out because Eminem reportedly wanted her to portray his mother in the semi-autobiographical film, 8 Mile. Ultimately, Kim Basinger was cast in the role.
In a recent appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Carey addressed this claim, offering some insights into her supposed discord with the Rap God.
The discussion took place during the popular ‘Plead the Fifth’ game, which involves celebrity guests answering three questions truthfully, with the option to skip only one.
“This summer, a music producer claimed the real reason why you and Eminem started beefing was because he approached you about playing his mom in 8 Mile. Is there any truth to that?”
The Grammy-winning artist responded: “From what I heard, there is truth to that, but I don’t think that he actually — Well, who knows who approached who?”
When Cohen asked if this comment reignited the tension between the two stars, Carey replied: “No. I mean, maybe. It depends what he’s thinking. I really don’t care.”
“Like, whatever he’s said, then I’m that, fine. Not really,” she added. “But that’s a rap lyric.”
The history of Carey and Eminem’s feud is well-documented, with claims that it dates back to when the rapper alleged they had been romantically involved in the early 2000s.
“Yes, me and Mariah did have a relationship for about a good six, seven months,” Eminem reportedly stated on his Shade 45 channel.
“[But] it didn’t work. I wasn’t really into what she was into; our personalities collided. She’s a diva, and I’m a little more regular, I guess.”
However, Carey denied ever being romantically linked to the rapper, telling Larry King in a 2002 interview that they’d merely ‘hung out’ and ‘spoken on the phone’.
“And I don’t consider that dating somebody.”
After learning about her contradiction, Eminem remarked: “I can never deny her talent, but the fact that she denied we ever had something, that’s bad.”
That same year, Carey released the track ‘Clown’ from her ninth studio album, Charmbracelet.
While she never confirmed the song was about Eminem, fans speculated that lyrics such as ‘You should’ve never intimated we were lovers / When you know very well we never even touched each other’ referred to him.
Four years later, Eminem responded with ‘Jimmy Crack Corn’.
“Your mind’s on us like mine’s on Mariah, and y’all are just like her, you’re all f***ing liars,” the 2006 lyrics stated.
Fans speculated that Carey had taken another public jab at the rapper, who recently appeared in Happy Gilmore 2.
In 2009, she released ‘Obsessed’, featuring her dressing up as a stalker, seemingly as a retort to his past lyrics.
That same year, Eminem released ‘The Warning’, mentioning her by name and taking a shot at her then-husband, Nick Cannon.
“I’m obsessed now? Oh gee, is that supposed to be me in the video with the goatee.
“Wow Mariah, I didn’t expect her to go balls out. Bitch, shut the f— up before I put all them phone calls out you made to my house when you was wild ‘n out before Nick.”