Eminem made his name in the early 2000s as a rapper who was not afraid to throw up a middle finger to the man and push every boundary put in front of him.
He is apparently still at it because at the end of his “Lose Yourself,” set during Sunday’s Super Bowl LVI halftime show the Detroit rapper took a knee on stage.
And that is something the NFL reportedly told him specifically that he could not do heading into the night.
But he’s “Slim Shady,” so everyone knew what was about to happen, right?
Eminem was trending on social media as the game began when reports indicated that his request that he be able to take a knee in support of protests against social injustices and racial inequality was rebuffed by the league.
According to the reports, the league made sure that Slim Shady along with fellow performers Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Dr. Dre and Kendrick Lamar “wouldn’t do anything too controversial.”
Dr. Dre, left, and Snoop Dogg perform during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 56 football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)AP
The NFL also, reportedly, went rounds with Dr. Dre regarding lyrics to some of his songs, specifically the line in his “Still D.R.E.” that reads “Still f— with the beats, still not loving police.” And, despite Dre reportedly paying most of the $7 million in expenses to put the show on, the league reportedly wasn’t willing to budge much there.
But, if the reports were true, the NFL probably isn’t too happy with Eminem. And, Eminem probably doesn’t care much, although, it will probably make for good material on the next album.
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Revenge_of_the_Khaki on February 14th, 2022 at 05:07 UTC »
I can't tell if it's funnier that the NFL thinks they could have possibly salvaged their reputation with the 18 scandals occurring at the moment or that they didn't realize that they literally told the real Slim Shady to please stand up.
This mother fucker flipped off the world on live TV at the Grammys. Did they think he was going to agree that a kneel was too far?
calisnark on February 14th, 2022 at 02:56 UTC »
If Snoop can Crip Walk, I'm sure Eminem taking a knee isn't too much.
striped-shirt3 on February 14th, 2022 at 02:50 UTC »
Crazy! He's always been a "follow the rules" kind of guy.