Asked about a surprising claim linking her to Eminem’s film debut, Mariah Carey offered a candid but very evasive take on live TV.
Mariah Carey reluctantly revisited her feud with Eminem during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, where she played a round of “Plead the Fifth”.
When Cohen brought up a story recently shared by producer Damion “Damizza” Young that Eminem wanted Carey to play his mother in 8 Mile, the singer did not dismiss it.
“From what I heard, there is truth to that”, Carey said very slowly, before adding, “But I don’t think that he actually… Well, who knows who approached who”.
Asked if that was the spark that lit their feud, Carey brushed it off: “Um, 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. But that’s a rap lyric”.
However, the beef was never contained to just the lyrics.
The Carey–Eminem feud began in the early 2000s, when Eminem claimed that the two had a brief romance, a claim that Carey has always denied. The back-and-forth spilt into music, with Eminem taking shots on songs like “Superman”, while Carey clapped back with “Clown”. The conflict escalated again in 2009 when Carey parodied Slim Shady in her “Obsessed” video, prompting Eminem’s scathing diss track “The Warning”.
Damizza, who worked closely with Carey, claimed earlier this year on the TFU podcast that Eminem seriously wanted her for the 8 Mile role, despite her being only four years older than him. “She did not like that shit at all”, he said, recalling that Kim Basinger, 19 years Eminem’s senior, ultimately got the part.
Carey’s recent comments suggest there might have been at least some truth to the story, though the singer seemed more amused than concerned. The news that her ex, Nick Cannon, who also tried to play the role of Eminem’s nemesis on behalf of Mariah, had insured his balls for $10 million evoked a much more emotional reaction from the Christmas singer.
