Marshall Mathers III, known everywhere as Eminem, has had a whirlwind of a life. He’s married and then divorced the same woman twice, rapped about throwing her body in his trunk, starred in a fictionalized version of himself in a blockbuster film, and won 15 Grammy Awards and 17 Billboard Music Awards. He’s also the only artist to have nine  albums consecutively debut at #1 on the hit charts.

With 230 million records sold globally, Eminem is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is consistently cited as one of the most influential rappers in the world. The King of Hip-Hop has had his fair share of ups and downs, but he always comes out swinging and usually ends up on top.

Let’s take a look at 17 disturbing facts about Eminem’s life.

17 His Father Abandoned Him When He Was A Baby

This is probably one of the reasons why Eminem seems so mad all the time. If you’ve listened to any of his tracks, you know that Marshall Mathers II, his father, abandoned him and his mother when he was just an infant. His dad had a change of heart in 2001 and wanted to reunite with his son, saying, “I’m not interested in his money. I just want to talk to him.” But Slim Shady refused.

16 His Childhood Bully Tried To Sue Him Later In Life

It’s always nice when you hear about a bullies comeuppance. When Em was a kid, his biggest bully was named DeAngelo Bailey. In a 1999 interview with Rolling Stone, Bailey even admitted to the bullying. In his song “Brain Damage,” Eminem calls him out, and Bailey sued him for defamation of character. The judge threw out his case, though, and even wrote her summation in the form of a 10-stanza rap.

15 He Was In A Coma After A Bullying Incident

Apparently the bullying that DeAngelo Bailey wrought upon young Eminem was so bad, that it once led to him being in a coma for four days. In 1982, Mathers had a run-in with Bailey, and said that he and other boys “flipped [Mathers] right on his head.” Mathers stopped moving and Bailey ran off and made up an excuse. As a result of this attack, Debbie Mathers (Em’s mom) attempted to sue her son’s school, but the lawsuit was dismissed.

14 He Was Abused By His Mentally-Ill Mother

Even though Debbie Mathers stood up for Marshall on some occasions, her relationship with her son was always tumultuous. Eminem has claimed that he basically raised his younger half-brother, Nathan, and in his son “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” he alludes that his mother may have had Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a disorder that causes people to intentionally hurt loved ones.

13 He Was Abandoned By Mom, Then She Came Back

Even though Debbie Mathers accused Eminem’s father of abandoning him, she went off and did the same thing, leaving Marshall in the care of his Great-Aunt Edna and Uncle Charles. Mathers said that they basically raised him and, “They were my solidarity.” They took him to school and allowed him to do chores like a normal kid.

12 Mom Fabricated Lawsuits Against Him

During the height of his fame, Eminem was struck by lawsuits from his own mother, in an attempt to wrangle money out of him. She wrote a memoir in 2008, My Son Marshall, My Son Eminem, where she claimed her lawyer filed a suit against Marshall without her permission. But she sued Eminem in 1999 for defamation, requesting $10 million for claiming that she was a drug addict.

11 He Failed 9th Grade Three Times

It might come as a surprise that since Eminem has such a large vocabulary, you might think he was great in school. Not true. Young Marshall actually failed 9th grade three times, before finally dropping out of high school at the age of 17. He once told Rolling Stone, “I suck at math. I’m terrible at social studies. But I’ve always been good at English, and I always had a lot of words in my vocabulary.”

10 His First Arrest Came At Age 20

Another shocker—many people might think that Eminem was a juvenile delinquent who was in jail all the time. But despite his tortured youth, Eminem managed to stay out of legal troubles until he was 20, when the rapper was arrested for shooting a squad car with a paintball gun. Luckily for him, the accuser didn’t show up to trial, so the case was ultimately dropped.

9 He Married And Divorced Kim Twice

Pretty much everyone who knows anything about the real Slim Shady knows that he’s had a rollercoaster relationship with his on-again-off-again wife Kimberly Ann. They met when Marshall was just 15 years old, and by 1995 the couple had Hailie. Though they’re reportedly on good terms now, they were married from 1999 to 2001, and again in 2006. The second marriage lasted less than a year.

8 He Came Up With Slim Shady While On The Toilet

The Slim Shady LP shot Eminem to stardom and cemented his legacy as a rapper. It accounts his fictional alter ego, and though the character seems fleshed out, the origins of Slim Shady are quite humble. According to Eminem himself, the rapper thought up the alter ego name Slim Shady while on the toilet, which doesn’t sound like such a hit of inspiration from the muse.

7 Dr. Dre Thought He Was Black At First

Dr. Dre took a chance on the young rapper, and became famous himself for backing the first famous white hip-hop artist. The only problem is that Dr. Dre didn’t even know he was white at first. Reportedly, when Dre first heard Eminem’s tape for the first time, he thought he was an African-American artist. Imagine his shock when he first met the talented artist!

6 He Was Under Secret Service Investigation

Not only has Eminem been questioned and investigated by the Secret Service, but apparently it’s happened twice! It first happened after his release of the 2003 track “We As Americans,” where he allegedly threatened US President George W. Bush. Then in 2018, Eminem says he was questioned again by Secret Service following his dissing of the president in the track “The Ringer.”

5 He’s Only Read One Book Cover To Cover

Despite having an amazing vocabulary, and the ability to spit words out at an astounding rate, Eminem has never been a big reader. In fact, he’s admitted that the only book he’s ever read cover to cover was I Make My Own Rules by LL Cool J. That being said, he’s also claimed to have read the dictionary for fun as a kid, to build his vocabulary up.

4 He Was Shot While Walking To Kim’s House

This just goes to show what kind of neighborhoods Marshall Mathers grew up in, in Detroit. He’s stated that he grew up on the wrong side of 8 Mile, and this story sort of proves it. While he was still a teenager and dating Kim, he was reportedly shot at while walking to her house.

3 His Nickname As A Kid… It Wasn’t Eminem

Eminem has had multiple nicknames throughout his career. Heck, even “Eminem” is a nickname, of course, for Marshall Mathers III. He also has the self-titled nickname of “Slim Shady” that everyone knows him as, and “Em.” But as a kid, he was reportedly called “Mickey,” because he had big ears. That’s one nickname we’re sure he’s glad to have gotten away from.

2 He Once Paid $100,000 To Settle Assault Charges

Even though Eminem first went to jail when he was 20 years old, he’s been in a number of lawsuits throughout his life. His civil case record is not nearly as spotless as his criminal one. After walking out of a nightclub one night, Eminem chanced upon his then-wife Kim kissing a man named John Guerra. Eminem beat the crap out of him, and was forced to pay $100,000 in settled assault charges to the man.

1 He Has Been Falsely Reported Deceased Multiple Times

Most famous musicians have had false reports of their death at one time or another, so this isn’t that surprising. Just look at Paul McCartney—many people STILL believe he is a clone, that the real one died in the late ‘60s. Well, Em has been falsely reported deceased by car crash on four separate occasions, and once of a drug overdose. Luckily, he’s still alive and kicking.

References: nme.com, ranker.com, samaa.tv