It’s hard not to be “Obsessed” with Eminem and Mariah Carey’s long-standing feud.
Although the two artists have each found huge success in the music industry, the rapper and the “Fantasy” singer struggled to put their emotions aside and make peace after Eminem claimed that they dated.
“I don’t want to say anything disrespectful because I respect her as a singer, but on the whole personal level, I’m not really feeling it. I just don’t like her as a person,” Eminem told Rolling Stone in 2002. “I gotta be honest; I learned a lesson from it: Don’t believe the hype. I have respect for her, but she doesn’t really have it all together. I’ll just say that and that she’s a beautiful woman.”
From Carey’s perspective, she never had a romantic relationship with Eminem. Instead, the singer only viewed their short bond as professional.
Eminem Through the Years: From Slim Shady to Now
Over the years, this feud has encompassed everything from diss tracks to shady interviews. Things didn’t get any better when Carey debuted “Obsessed” from Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel — and then dressed up as a man resembling Eminem in the song’s official music video
Fifteen years after the release of Memoirs, Us Weekly is taking a trip down memory lane and looking back on this unpredictable feud:
2001
As Eminem was at the top of his career, Carey wanted to see if he would help with her Charmbracelet album. According to Eminem, a romantic relationship formed and lasted for several months. Carey, however, said it was purely professional.
May 2002
While listening to Eminem’s album The Eminem Show, viewers took notice of the rapper’s shout-out to Carey on the song “Superman.”
“What you trying be? My new wife?” he rapped on the track. “What, you Mariah? Fly through twice.” In a separate song titled “When the Music Stops,” Eminem said, “What the f— you take me for, a joke? You smoking crack? ‘Fore I do that, I’d beg Mariah to take me back.”
Unexpected Celebrity Feuds We Never Saw Coming
December 2002
On her album Charmbracelet, Carey seemingly addressed her relationship with Eminem in the song titled “Clown.”
“You should’ve never intimated we were lovers,” she sang, “when you know very well we never even touched each other.”
In a separate interview with Larry King, Carey clarified how close she got to the rapper. “I hung out with him, I spoke to him on the phone. I think I was probably with him a total of four times,” she said. “And I don’t consider that dating somebody.”
Mariah Carey’s Family Guide: The Singer’s Late Parents, Siblings and Kids
2003
The New York Post reported that Eminem saved several “long, gushy” voicemails from Carey that he could use in a song. In response to the rumors, Carey told the publication, “I don’t know what the hell he’s doing. It’s a little excessive. Doesn’t it seem a little bit girly? Like we’re in a catfight.”
2006
In his song “Jimmy Crack Corn,” Eminem reigned his feud with Carey. “Your mind’s on us like mine’s on Mariah,” he rapped. “And y’all are just like her, you’re all f—ing liars.” Later that year, he reportedly went on Shade 45 radio and said he was in a relationship with the singer for about seven months.
“I wasn’t really into what she was into; our personalities collided,” he said. “She’s a diva, and I’m a little more regular, I guess.”
2009
Nick Cannon has entered the chat! In his song “Bagpipes From Baghdad,” Eminem chose to spotlight both Carey and her then-partner. “Mariah, whatever happened to us? / Why did we have to break up?” he rapped. “Nick Cannon, you prick, I wish you luck with the f—in’ whore.”
Cannon was not impressed with Eminem’s song and chose to sound off in a blog post. “I thought we got past the days where white men could spew vulgar obscenities at our beautiful queens and get away with it,” he wrote in a since-deleted letter. “So, Miss Marshall, I’m going to make you wish you never spoke my name and regret the ungodly things you said about my wife.”
Several diss tracks followed, with Carey dropping “Obsessed” and Eminem releasing “The Warning.” (For the “Obsessed” video, Carey famously dressed in drag as a man who looked a lot like Eminem.)
2010
In an interview with Vibe magazine, Eminem showed signs of wanting to move on from the feud. “I really don’t want to talk about her anymore,” he told the publication. “I don’t want to keep beating a dead horse. I’m not even going to comment about it. I’m done with that whole situation. I said what I had to say. I’m done.”
2016
After Cannon finalized his divorce from Carey after six years of marriage, the former America’s Got Talent host decided to reflect on why he got involved in the Eminem saga. “The way the Eminem thing started was that I never had an issue with him,” he said on DX News. “If anything, I’ve been one of his biggest fans, but when another man crosses a line of disrespect, then you got to deal with it.”
Song Lyrics Inspired by Celeb Breakups
2019
While appearing on T.I.’s “ExpediTlously” podcast, Cannon revealed that Eminem had apologized. Things took a turn, however, when Eminem appeared on Fat Joe’s single “Lord Above.” During his portion of the song, the star called Carey a “nut job.”
2020
After Carey released her memoir, The Meaning of Mariah Carey, readers discovered Eminem was not mentioned. When asked why he didn’t make the final pages, she explained to Variety: “There [are] some songs that I can sing in response to that, but I will not do it. … If somebody or something didn’t pertain to the actual meaning of Mariah Carey, as is the title, then they aren’t in the book.”
2025
During a June 2025 episode of the “TFU” podcast, music producer Damion “Damizza” Young, who started working with Carey in 1988, said that he introduced the singer to Eminem. Young recalled Eminem wanting to cast Carey in his 2002 film 8 Mile — but the rapper wanted the “All I Want for Christmas Is You” hitmaker, who is four years older than him, to play his character’s mother.
“She did not like that s*** at all. Her insecurities kicked in big time,” Young claimed.
Young said he warned Eminem against offering the part to Carey.
“Don’t do this. I know where you’re going with this,” he recalled telling the “Houdini” rapper. “I’m managing this girl, and it’s gonna cause me a problem. … If I don’t say something and then it comes another route in the business or something, then I’m the bad guy.”
The role ultimately went to Kim Basinger, who is 19 years older than Eminem.
