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Cousin's Tell-All Book Doesn't Faze Eminem

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Calculating and timed to the letter, a woman who wrote a scandalous, tell-all book about the Detroit rapper was hawking the book on a local radio station.


Eminem is not one to grant interviews, nor say anything outside of giving his opinion through his music, but he did give a call-in to a radio show to dispute the author's claims and clear up some misconceptions.


"I thank God every day that he gave me the talent and strength to get through everything I've been through," Eminem said.


Eminem has had his share of people trying to jump on his celebrity band wagon.


In August 2000, his mother, Debbie Mathers, sued him for defamation because of how she was depicted in some of Eminem's songs.


But J.R. "Jen" Watkins -- who is the cousin of Kim Mathers, Eminem's ex-wife -- said that her book, "Cleaning Out My Closet," was more of a way to "get things off my chest."


"It started as a project and a kind of message to Marshall, too," Watkins said during the radio interview.


"I have no way to get in touch with him. He's just broke off all ties without any explanation," Watkins said.


The woman has said that she practically "brought up" Eminem's daughter, Haley.


Kim Mathers, who is also featured prominently in the book, called in to the station, too.

"That's my cousin, Jennifer, sitting in the studio with you right now. What I have to say is first and foremost that she wants to talk about how I'm a family-wrecker. Let's talk about how she wrecks her family, how she dates her aunt's ex-husband... The real reason she stopped speaking to me is because I wouldn't have sex with her and her husband," Mathers said.

Eminem told the radio audience that the book doesn't faze him.

"The people who end up writing books about me, end up back in their little trailer-trash homes anyway. They think they're going to get a little money and it ends up flopping and back firing in their face," he said.

Kim Mathers believes that the reason her cousin wrote the book is because she was trying to get revenge on Eminem.

"The fact of the matter of her writing the book is that she's mad because she tried to get with Marshall. He didn't want to see her in that way and because he cut off ties with her she's pissed," Mathers said.

Eminem backed up his ex-wife's statement "100 percent."

When asked to confirm the rumors that he and Kim were back together, Eminem said that the two have a friendly relationship because of their daughter.

Meanwhile, a source says that J.R. Watkins and her husband, Mike, had every intention of releasing the book to coincide with the media splash that would happen when Eminem's movie "8 Mile" is released on Nov. 8.

Detroit radio station 95.5 FM will replay the radio interview on Friday at 7 a.m.

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