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Nick Cannon Defends Feud With Eminem Over Mariah Carey: ‘You Can’t Come at My Wife’
Nick Cannon has defended his years-long dispute with Eminem, saying he felt obliged to respond after the rapper insulted Mariah Carey, Cannon’s then-wife. The feud grew from Eminem’s claims of a past relationship with Carey, which she denied, and his references to both her and Cannon in songs.
Carey and Cannon married in 2008, after the earlier tension between Carey and Eminem began in the early 2000s. Eminem mentioned Carey on several tracks, including “Bagpipes From Baghdad”; Cannon later released three diss tracks in 2019, after his divorce from Carey. Carey said last year she had heard a claim that a proposed role in 8 Mile may have contributed to the dispute, but she was unsure and said she did not care what Eminem had said.
In short
- Cannon says he responded to Eminem’s insults about Carey.
- Eminem’s claims of a romance with Carey were denied by her.
- Cannon released three diss tracks in 2019.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Cannon’s strongest case is that public insults directed at his wife called for a response: standing up for a partner can express loyalty and reject the idea that a celebrity should simply accept personal attacks. He may also have seen his diss tracks as a way to defend Carey’s dignity and answer Eminem on the same public platform he had used.
The case against
Eminem’s strongest case is that his songs and claims were part of artistic expression and a public dispute, rather than conduct that necessarily required a personal response from Cannon. Cannon’s diss tracks, released after the marriage had ended, could be seen as prolonging the feud and drawing more attention to claims Carey herself had denied and later said she did not care about.
Explained simply
Mariah Carey is a singer and Nick Cannon is a television presenter and rapper. They married in 2008 and later divorced. Eminem is a rapper whose songs have referred to Carey and Cannon.
The tension between Carey and Eminem began in the early 2000s, when Eminem claimed they had had a relationship; Carey denied it. He later mentioned her and Cannon in songs, including “Bagpipes From Baghdad”. Cannon released three response tracks in 2019, after his divorce from Carey.