The Tribulations and Trials of rapper Eminem 

Slim and Kim file for Divorce

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) -- Updated August 17, 2000

Eminem has filed for divorce from high school sweetheart Kim Mathers.

The 27-year-old rap star, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, asked a Macomb County Circuit Court judge to grant joint custody of their 4-year-old daughter.

Kim Mathers, 25, had known for some time that Eminem had prepared divorce papers, but she was not told in advance that he was filing Wednesday, said her attorney, Neil Rockind. The papers are dated June 22.

The couple wed 14 months ago. Rockind said she had stayed in the marriage for the sake of their daughter but now agrees to the breakup.

"I think that she recognizes that this is an opportunity to remove herself from a relationship that has been holding her back," Rockind told the Detroit Free Press. "This is no reason for her to shed too many tears over a relationship with somebody who obviously does not want her around."

Rockind said he did not know if the specter of divorce contributed to Kim Mathers' July suicide attempt. The couple have been separated since early June.

Eminem publicist Dennis Dennehy said Eminem filed for divorce because he was concerned about his wife's fidelity.

Eminem was arrested June 4, accused of using an unloaded gun to hit a man reportedly seen kissing Kim Mathers in the parking lot of a nightclub.

"I think Em got married because he was trying to do the American dream thing," former Eminem bodyguard Byron Williams told The Detroit News. "But unfortunately, sometimes it doesn't work out that way."

Eminem's current album, "The Marshall Mathers LP," topped the charts, and in February he won Grammy awards for rap album and solo performance.

The divorce filing comes the same week that Eminem's mother, Debbie R. Mathers-Briggs of St. Joseph, Mo., sued him for $1 million to supplement a $10 million defamation case she already has pending.

Moms and her Lawsuit 

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) -- Rap superstar Eminem has rejected his mother's offer to settle her $10 million defamation lawsuit against him for $2 million, according to court records.

Debbie Mathers-Briggs of St. Joseph, Mo., filed suit in September 1999 against her son, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III. She alleges the Grammy-winning musician defamed her by describing her in magazine interviews as an unstable, lawsuit-happy drug user.

Mathers-Briggs' attorney, Fred Gibson, submitted the settlement offer to Macomb County Circuit Court after privately relaying the offer to Eminem in June, The Macomb Daily reported Thursday.

The 27-year-old Sterling Heights resident did not respond to either offer. Eminem still intends to take the civil suit to trial and will claim truth as a defense, said his attorney, Peter Peacock.

Eminem is scheduled to give a deposition on Sept. 13.

His latest album, The Marshall Mathers LP  has sold more than 4 million copies sold since its release.

He faces felony charges in two Michigan counties. He  was arrested in a June 3 confrontation with rival rapper Douglas Dail of the Insane Clown Posse at a Royal Oak car stereo store, and is charged in another case with carrying a concealed weapon and assault with a dangerous weapon for allegedly threatening a man who kissed the star's wife at a bar.

Slim Shady's Kim Lady
By Hawke Fracassa / The Detroit News

WARREN -- Rapper Eminem's wife is so shaken by a suicide attempt and her husband's legal woes that she's getting professional help to cope with what has become unbearable stress, her lawyer said following a court hearing Tuesday.

Kimberley Mathers, 25, of Sterling Heights showed up at 37th District Court in Warren to answer to a disturbing-the-peace charge, but instead of setting a trial date, Judge Dawnn Gruenburg adjourned the hearing at her lawyer's request. That leaves open the possibility that the case can be taken under advisement.

Such a deal would give Mathers six to 11 months to delete the charge from her record if she has no other problems. Such a practice is common in Warren if defendants have clean records.

"We've asked the judge to allow Kim time to recover from her injuries," lawyer Neil Rockind said. "She needs to heal emotionally and physically."

Rockind, who kept Mathers out of the courtroom so TV cameras couldn't videotape her appearance, said he sought the adjournment to "make sure Kim is in an appropriate and comfortable and reasonable frame of mind" when the case is heard.

Jurij Fedorak, who is prosecuting the case, said the postponement was appropriate.

Mathers was charged with the misdemeanor after defying Warren police June 3 by ignoring officers' orders at the Hot Rocks bar to sit down and not talk to her rapper husband.

That night, Eminem saw his wife kiss a man he didn't know while he was spying on her at the bar. He retaliated by clubbing John Guerra, 25, of Warren with an unloaded pistol, police said.

Guerra said the kiss was innocent and that Eminem misunderstood what happened.

"That misperception caused (Eminem) to do something that resulted in his arrest, causing Kim extraordinary guilt," Rockind said.

Kimberley and Marshall Mathers -- Eminem's real name -- were arrested and released.

He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a felony, and will appear before Gruenburg Aug. 31 to find out whether he will stand trial.

Earlier this month, Kimberley Mathers attempted suicide by slashing her arms 10 times with razor blades as her husband performed at The Palace. Her mother, Kathleen Sluck, called 911.