2/16/07 interview, Kim about Em

[Never_Enough]

I'm feeling such a Stan tonight, so, also because I'm bored, I was digging up old Em interviews and now I bumped into this 2007 radio show with Kim talking about Em.
I'm about 3 minutes in, so I've just heard the part about his kids relationship with him, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvQgQeLVD2U

Do you think she was just talking shit about him for the sake of it or is she telling the truth?

These lines off My Darling now make more sense:
"Lose your best friend from high school, your wife too
Ain't even sure if your kids like you"

What do you think?

[Trimss]

I think we all know Eminem wasn't the best dad before he got sober. He was on tour, was under the influence most of the time or working in the studio and probably barely even there for his kids.

Déjà Vu explains it pretty well. Now it's all better I think.

[Never_Enough]

Ok I've just finished to listen to it.
I think she was speaking the truth but she was making things a little bigger than what they actually were because it was maybe one of the first times she had the actual chance to defend herself from Em's accusations/insults.
If you haven't heard this interview yet, you have to do it, it's kinda interesting, even though it's pure gossip and nothing else.

[Amaranthine]

Pretty sure it was true at the time.

[Erowid]

Pretty sure it was true at the time.

This. I don't think she was lying, however, I don't think she was describing Hailie's entire existence up to that point, or anything like that, either. I think he is currently a good dad and has been for around 4 or 5 years, and I think for the first decade or so of Hailie's life, he was a reasonably decent dad, too. But there was that 2-3 year dark period in between where he was more or less a deadbeat, I feel.

[HeySamantha]

I'm sure he wasn't the best dad, but he used to take them with him on tour sometimes, too. I think he'd change a lot but I don't think he was horrible, either. He has always put a lot of effort into his kids, even if he wasn't the best at it at one point. I do think Kim would've over exaggerated, they've had a very rough relationship as we know.

As for the kids lyric people are posting, I think it had more to do with him doubting himself and not being able to do anything right, let alone raise 3 kids. He had to of been a better parent than Kim, he got custody of them. Kids being taken from their mother is rare.

[Hansen]

She was bashing him though, describing their sex life and stuff. Stupid.

[HeySamantha]

He fucked up for a few years but he has been a decent father more years than not. Hailie wouldn't have stayed with him if she was afraid of him. Neither would Alaina actually, she was older. Alaina would have known what was going on at the time.

[Erowid]

He fucked up for a few years but he has been a decent father more years than not. Hailie wouldn't have stayed with him if she was afraid of him. Neither would Alaina actually, she was older. Alaina would have known what was going on at the time.

Well. First off, about the custody thing from a couple posts back, no, Em does not have primary custody. They have joint custody. Not only that, but after the FIRST divorce, Kim got SOLE custody, with Em getting "liberal visitation rights". Meaning he had no rights, basically (This is why 50 has said that Hailie is the only reason Em remarried Kim). So the whole "Kim's such a bad mom that she lost custody to Eminem, lol" thing is BASICALLY bogus. Yes, she had her addiction period for a year or two, and at that time, for practical reasons, yes, she lost custody, and Em picked up her slack. Just like she picked up his slack a couple years later. But it had nothing to do with her being an incompetent mom OVERALL, and everything to do with her just... going through a crazy/irresponsible phase.

I totally agree with you that Em has been a decent sincere dad overall, as far as we know. I don't really buy this idea that him caring about his kids has just been for show, and that he's actually an emotionally unavailable asshole who only pretends to love his kids. The evidence demonstrates that he clearly tried and clearly MEANT fatherhood. If that makes sense. Yes, he had other demands on his time, and Kim and her family was more of a constant reliable presence (for the MOST part), but it's obvious that Em's kids were a priority for him, and that he made an effort to see them frequently, and know what they were up to, and show them that he was there for them, if not always physically, at least emotionally (which to me is really what matters).

And I also agree that I don't think they were afraid of him, and I don't think that's what Kim was trying to suggest, either. I think when she said that Hailie said he was being "weird" it didn't strike me as afraid or disgusted as much as just... confused and heartbroken. Lannie really wasn't a child anymore at that point either, true... she would have been 14 (just barely, though), so she honestly must have had a pretty decent grip on what was going on, which is kind of weird to think about.