Mariah Carey has addressed a recent rumour about the origins of her long-running feud with Eminem.
During an appearance on What What Happens Live on Wednesday night, the We Belong Together hitmaker responded to the claim that she “started beefing” with the rapper after he asked her to play his mum in his 2002 movie 8 Mile, even though she’s only four years older than him.
“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?” host Andy Cohen asked.
The pop diva confirmed there was truth to the allegation, but hinted that the situation didn’t happen exactly as described.
“From what I heard, there is truth to that,” Carey replied. “But I don’t think that he actually… well, who knows who approached who.”
When Cohen asked if that was the moment that “ignite(d) the beef,” the singer avoided a direct answer, replying, “Um, no. I mean, maybe. It depends (on) what he’s thinking. I really don’t care. Like, whatever he’s said, then I’m that, fine. Not really. But that’s a rap lyric.”
Music producer and radio executive Damion ‘Damizza’ Young made the claim about the genesis of the musicians’ feud on a podcast earlier this year. He said he introduced Carey to Eminem and the rapper wanted to cast her as his mother, a role ultimately played by Kim Basinger.
“She did not like that s**t at all,” Young said on the TFU podcast. “Her insecurities kicked in big time.”
The feud between the stars kicked off in the early 2000s when Eminem claimed they had been in a romantic relationship, which she denied. He subsequently referenced her on tracks such as When the Music Stops, Superman, and Bagpipes From Baghdad.
Mariah also addressed the Lose Yourself rapper in her music, in the 2002 song Clown and the 2009 single Obsessed, which is directly aimed at him. He swiftly responded with The Warning, in which he told her to shut up “before I put all them phone calls out you made to my house when you was wild ‘n out before (then-husband) Nick (Cannon)”.
