Elton John says Eminem was never Homophobic at Beart 1 with Zane Lowe.
Eminem is well-known for his feuds with everyone in the music industry, from Mariah Carey to Machine Gun Kelly to Snoop Dogg, but he is also well-known for his long-standing friendship with iconic British artist Elton John. Their friendship began at the 2001 GRAMMY Awards when they performed “Stan,” one of Em’s most popular songs.
Elton John, Who turned 70 this week, sat down with Beats 1 for an Interview with Host Zane Lowe to talk about his Birthday and great moments from his career, including his performance of ‘Stan’ with Eminem in 2001.
Eminem’s decision to apologize for using a homophobic slur in his new album has been praised by Elton John.
The performance was surrounded by controversy after critics claim Eminem Homophobic due to his violent lyrics towards them. But Elton John doesn’t agree with those claims as he says Eminem was never homophobic. “For Me, Eminem was never homophobic,” Elton said. “I listened to the whole of the ‘Marshall Mathers’ album when I drove to the show in South Hampton and I was floored by it. And I thought how could anyone think this is… he’s just writing about the way things are. Not how he thinks, but the way things are.”
Also Check out: Elton John Speaks about helping Eminem Quit Drugs.
Elton John, who once performed with Axl Rose in MTV Music Awards, also claimed the same for Guns N’ Roses frontman. “And the same with Axl. Never in a million years did I think he was homophobic. So I did things. I did the MTV Music Awards with him and the Guns N’ Roses and I did the Grammys with Marshall and I became very big friends with Marshall. I’ll fight for anyone who is misunderstood and misrepresented by the idiots out there.”
At the 2001 Grammy Awards, Elton John caused controversy by singing a duet with Eminem. GLAAD said in a statement at the time that it was “appalled” that John would share a stage with Eminem, who “promotes hate and violence against gays and lesbians through his words and acts.”
In the song “Criminal”, Eminem raps: “My words are like a dagger with a jagged edge that’ll stab you in the head, whether you’re a f*g or lez, Or the homos*x, hermaph or a trans-a-vest, Pants or dress, hate f*gs? The answer’s ‘yes’”. Eminem has previously defended his use of the term “f**got,” claiming that he “never actually equated the two things.”
In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, Eminem defended his usage of the term “f**got,” claiming he “never really connected those words with being homose*ual.” “It was more like calling someone a bi**h or a punk or a*shole… I poke fun at other people, myself,” he said. “But the real me sitting here right now talking to you has no issues with gay, straight, transgender, at all. “I’m glad we live in a time where it’s really starting to feel like people can live their lives and express themselves.”
In 2010, the rapper stated his support for marriage equality in an interview with the New York Times, saying:”If two people love each other, then what the hell? I think that everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable, if they want.”
Elton John’s long-standing friendship with Eminem isn’t his only link to hip hop. He’s lately performed on A Tribe Called Quest’s record, worked with Thugger in the studio (where’s that song at though??), and shopped for Tech N9ne vinyl.
