Eminem's ex-wife in court

Eminem's marriage was said to have been volatile

The former wife of rap star Eminem has pleaded innocent to a drug charge at a court hearing in the US.

Kimberly Mathers is accused of possessing up to 25g of cocaine - a charge carrying a penalty of up to five years in prison.

She is also accused of driving with a suspended licence and unsafe driving near a stopped emergency vehicle.

Police allege that Mathers, 28, was carrying cocaine when an officer in St Clair Shores, Michigan, stopped her on 10 June for a driving violation.

Prosecutors said tests showed that the substance found in the car's glovebox and in her purse was cocaine.

Neither Mathers nor her lawyer commented after Tuesday's hearing.

She is on bail and must undergo drug screening every other week.

Mathers divorced Eminem - real name Marshall Mathers III - in 2001 following a reportedly stormy marriage.

They had married in June 1999 and had a daughter, Hailie Jade.

Eminem, 30, who has just finished a series of sell-out UK dates, has rapped in his songs about killing his former wife.