Eminem Fat – Not Slim Shady Anymore?

Fans were wondering what happened to the relentless rapper this past year - considering he's pretty much fallen off the face of the earth.

But what fans didn't know is that Eminem has been spending a significant amount of time recovering from pneumonia and receiving care in the hospital.

Slim's publicist told TMZ the following:

"Over the holidays, Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem, was under doctor's care at a Detroit-area hospital for complications due to pneumonia. He has since been released and is doing well recovering at home."

But Eminem's recent weight gain and his holiday trip to the hospital may not be directly related.

A source close to the star told Access that "his hospitalization had nothing to do with his heart or a weight problem."

Does that mean they're not related or that Slim actually didn't gain the weight, like many media outlets are reporting?

We'll keep you posted...he's gotta surface sometime!