DETROIT, MI -- Eminem’s mother Debbie Mathers would like nothing more than to improve her estranged relationship with her son, a longtime friend and former agent told MLive.com.
And that opportunity could present itself before or after a much-anticipated short film for the rapper’s song “Headlights” is likely released this spring.
“She doesn’t want me to comment to the press,” said Neal Alpert, who contacted Mathers on Monday after MLive’s request to speak with her. “So I have to respect her wishes. She doesn’t want anything to get in the way of a possible reunion with her son.”
Eminem’s video for “Headlights,” a song that addresses his relationship with his mother and appears to make amends, is expected to be directed by Spike Lee.
Lee confirmed on his Twitter page last week that he was in Detroit to work on the short film about Eminem’s past and described it as “historic.”
But it’s unclear if Mathers has had some type of involvement in the creative process for the film or could make a cameo.
Dennis Dennehy, Eminem’s publicist, declined to comment on the matter and referred to the “Headlights,” featured on the rappers’s most recent Marshall Mathers LP 2 album, as his side of the story.
“Eminem has addressed it all in the song,” Dennehy wrote in an e-mail. “We have no further comment.”
Attempts to reach Debbie Mathers, who raised her son primarily in Detroit and Warren, were unsuccessful. Messages left Monday weren't returned.
Eminem mentions in “Headlights” lyrics directed at his mother that “to this day we remain estranged and I hate it though, ‘cause you ain’t even get to witness your grandbabies grow.”
Lyrics in “Headlights” also mention that his mother’s “mental state is deteriorating slow.”
Alpert claims he isn’t sure if Mathers is involved in the “Headlights” short film, but said she seems to be in good health and spirits.
“I don’t know, to be honest with you, because this is all news to me,” Alpert said of the “Headlights” film. “To my knowledge, she is doing OK.”
Alpert added that Mathers has “barely had any interaction” with Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, since the “Headlights” song was released last fall.
Eminem has addressed it all in the song." - Dennis Dennehy, rapper's publicist, on "Headlights" lyrics and relationship with his mother.
The rapper, better known as Slim Shady, issues an apology to his mother in “Headlights” for harsh and abusive lyrics dating back to 1999 that were used in several songs including “My Name Is” and “My Mom.”
Plans for a “Headlights” short film surfaced over the weekend after the Instagram account for Eminem posted Saturday a photo of him with Lee that mentioned it was taken in Detroit for a “Headlights” shoot.
The message attached to the photo: “Spike came out to The D for the "Headlights ... Coming soon."
Alpert said he wasn’t sure when Debbie Mathers last talked to her son, but insisted that she’s been “very open to a reconciliation” for years.
Debbie Mathers sued her son for defamation in 2001 and wanted $11 million for his portrayal of her in songs, but reportedly settled for $25,000.
She co-wrote a 259-page book called “My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem” that was released in 2007 and co-written by New York journalist Annette Witheridge.
The book, upon its release, was described by the publisher as “the inside truth about Marshall Bruce Mathers III” that attempts to “untangle the outspoken and enigmatic alter egos Eminem and Slim Shady.”
“She’s never not considered him her son,” Alpert said. “As long as this whole thing has played out, she has never stopped loving him. I can tell you that right now.”
Witheridge told MLive she spent more than a year working with Debbie Mathers on the book and agrees with Alpert the matriarch seems eager to repair the relationship.
“Nothing would make Debbie happier than if Eminem were to make amends with her,” Witheridge said. “She has longed to have a proper relationship with him for many, many years.
“I don’t know if she’d like to explain to him what happened when she sued him … but she has never stopped loving him.”
Witheridge believes that Debbie Mathers would rather like a private meeting with her son to “bury the hatchet” instead of some type of role in Eminem’s “Headlights” film.
“I think she would prefer not to be in the spotlight because of his fans,” Witheridge said. “I do know that when he first became famous and was singing about Debbie, that she would get fans throwing chewing gum at her in the shopping mall and it would get stuck in her hair.
“She became the most hated mother in America.”
The fact both sides are at least willing to make an effort toward reconciliation after years of drama appears to show some type of progress.
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