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In May 2025, Chris Kirkpatrick and his family announced the arrival of a new puppy, named after rapper Eminem, who famously dissed the *NSYNC member in 2002’s ‘Without Me’
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“Welcome home Marshall Mathers aka Slim Shady!!!” Kirkpatrick’s wife, Karly Skladany, wrote in her first social media post about the 8-week-old miniature American shepherd
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News of Slim Shady joining Kirkpatrick’s family comes shortly after he opened up about the moment he learned about his iconic ‘Without Me’ diss, and thought, “Man, that sucks”
Chris Kirkpatrick has a new four-legged family member, and the adorable pet might squash the *NSYNC member’s beef with Eminem once and for all!
On Wednesday, May 14, the singer’s wife, Karly Skladany, announced on Instagram that the couple and their 7-year-old son, Nash Dylan, welcomed a new puppy. She also revealed that the family named the miniature American shepherd after Eminem.
“We added to our family yesterday!!!” she wrote alongside a slideshow of photos of the 8-week-old pup spending time with the family.
karlyk5/Instagram
Chris Kirkpatrick with his family dog Slim Shady
Then, Skladany — who tied the knot with the musician in 2013 — added in the caption that the tiny pup is named after Eminem’s birth name (and alter ego), writing, “Welcome home Marshall Mathers aka Slim Shady!!!”
The cheeky moniker — an apparent nod to the rapper’s infamous bar about Kirkpatrick, 53, in 2002’s “Without Me” — did not go unnoticed in the comments of Skladany’s post.
“Who came up with the name🙌😁,” one user questioned, while others wrote, “❤️ ha ha ha I love the name,” and “Epic name!”
karlyk5/Instagram
Nash Dylan Kirkpatrick and Karly Skladany with new puppy Slim Shady
Skladany also noted that the family’s 2-year-old dog immediately bonded with the new “#miniaussie,” writing, “We already love you to pieces and JoJo is taking you under her wing!!! Welcome home, Slim!!! 🐶💙🥰.”
She also showed off the little pup, who has black, white, and brown fur, on Instagram Stories. In one post, the puppy is curled up in a blanket, fast asleep. In another, he chews on a toy in a fluffy dog bed.
The family’s decision to name their latest addition Slim Shady comes after Kirkpatrick recently opened up about his infamous mention in Eminem’s 2002 hit song “Without Me” in a recent interview.
karlyk5/Instagram
Slim Shady, Chris Kirkpatrick’s new dog
During his appearance in CW’s The ’90s Boy Band Boom earlier in 2025, the *NSYNC member recalled the moment he first learned of his mention in the hit track. (Eminem raps the bar “Chris Kirkpatrick, you can get your ass kicked,” at the top of the third verse.)
The “Bye Bye Bye” hitmakers — Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Justin Timberlake and Lance Bass — were “coming back” from a show in Miami, he recalled in the CW special, “and I started getting all of these text messages, ‘Have you heard the new Eminem song? He makes fun of you in the Eminem song.'”
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At first, Kirkpatrick said, he racked his brain trying to figure out how the band would fit into one of the rapper’s tracks. Then he realized that he, not the entire group, was on the receiving end of the now-infamous diss.
“I love Eminem and *NSYNC rhymes with everything. *NSYNC, stink, you know. It’s really not that hard,” the musician remembered reasoning with himself at the time. “And they’re like, ‘No, no, no, you. Chris Kirkpatrick.’ And I’m like, ‘Chris Kirkpatrick? That doesn’t rhyme with anything.'”
“And then I hear, ‘Get your ass kicked,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh, yeah.. I guess it rhymes with that. That makes sense,'” Kirkpatrick recalled. “And at that moment, I was like, ‘What does this mean? Do I have beef now? Is this, are we beefing? Man, that sucks.'”
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