In a recent interview, Nick Cannon opened up about his ongoing feud with Eminem, a conflict that dates back to 2009 when the rapper dissed Cannon’s then-wife, Mariah Carey, on the track “Bagpipes From Baghdad.” Cannon recalled the moment during an appearance on On Par With Maury Povich, stating, “He disrespected my woman, man. You can’t come at my wife and don’t expect to get this work.”
Cannon expressed that the animosity stemmed from Eminem’s feelings towards Carey, suggesting they had a professional relationship that Eminem had publicly portrayed as personal. He clarified, “So that was way before me. So then by the time we got married, he had some harsh words because I guess he was still in his feelings. I couldn’t stand for that at the time. At the dignity of my woman, I had to fight for my relationship, my love.”
Cannon and Carey tied the knot in 2008, even though the tensions between Carey and Eminem had begun in the early 2000s. Eminem has claimed that he had a romantic relationship with Carey for a few months, which she has strongly denied. This led to references in several of Eminem’s songs including “When the Music Stops” and “Superman.” In response, Carey appeared to address Eminem in her 2002 track “Clown,” singing, “You should’ve never intimated we were lovers/ When you know very well we never even touched each other.”
The feud was reignited in 2006 with Eminem’s “Jimmy Crack Corn” which featured lyrics about Carey and Cannon. Eminem’s continued jabs culminated in “Bagpipes From Baghdad.” Cannon initially reacted to the diss in a now-deleted blog post, criticizing Eminem for disrespecting women: “I thought we got past the days where white men could spew vulgar obscenities at our beautiful queens and get away with it.”
In December 2019, following his divorce from Carey, Cannon released a series of diss tracks, including “The Invitation,” “Pray for Him,” and “Canceled: Invitation,” aimed at Eminem. He later explained in an interview with Billboard that he felt the need to defend himself after years of Eminem bringing up their conflict.
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Cannon emphasized, “I was defending myself once again. He keeps bringing it up for decades. I’m one of those cats that matches energy. I don’t do it — I overdo it… If you’ve ever heard me speak on this matter, I always give that dude his props as an icon in hip-hop. I think he knows better now. If he keeps talking about me, I’m gonna keep talking back.”
Last year, during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Carey was questioned about the origin of the feud. Host Andy Cohen asked if a claim that Eminem approached her about playing his mother in the film 8 Mile was true, suggesting it may have started the discord. Carey responded, “From what I heard there is truth to that. But I don’t think that he actually—well, who knows who approached who.”
When pressed whether that incident ignited the feud, Carey replied, “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.”
