Eminem Sparks Controversy by Referencing Megan Thee Stallion Shooting Incident on New Song ‘Houdini’
UPDATE, 6/3/24 at 11:20 a.m. ET:
Eminem recruited his famous friends for a star-studded “Houdini” music video.
Pete Davidson, 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and comedian Shane Gillis all make a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in the visual. The video kicked off with Eminem receiving a phone call from Dr. Dre — a callback to the 2002 “Without Me” music video.
Original story continues below:
Fans aren’t sure what to think of Eminem bringing up Megan Thee Stallion and Tory Lanez’s shooting incident in his new single.
In the song “Houdini,” which was released on Friday, May 31, Eminem, 51, raps: “If I was to ask for Megan Thee Stallion if she would collab with me / Would I really have a shot at a feat / I don’t know, but I’m glad to be, back.”
The line seems to reference Lanez, 31, being charged with shooting Megan, 29, in the foot after they left a party at Kylie Jenner’s house in July 2020. Following the incident, Megan underwent surgery to have shrapnel removed from her left foot.
While some fans didn’t take the line seriously since Eminem is known for targeting other celebrities in his songs, others thought that he had crossed the line in bringing up the incident.
“Imagine bringing up someone’s trauma AND it’s not even a bar,” one user wrote via X. Another added, “Yea this was disgusting especially coming from a grown man. Just unnecessary.”
Megan herself has yet to comment on the song.
Eminem’s release of “Houdini” comes nearly three months after Lanez filed an appeal after being found guilty of shooting Megan in both of her feet.
In court documents obtained by Us Weekly, Lanez’s legal team cited “erroneous admission of evidence” and “prosecutiorial misconduct” as grounds for the appeal.
Prior to his appeal, Lanez was charged and sentenced to 10 years of prison for the incident. In August 2023, Lanez spoke in front of Judge David Herriford, asking for leniency and explaining how he still cares for Megan “dearly to this day” and that she is his “friend.”
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While Megan was not present for the hearing, a written statement was read on her behalf that explained how she chose not to attend the hearing to protect her mental well-being.
“He not only shot me, he made a mockery of my trauma. He tried to position himself as a victim and set out to destroy my character and my soul,” her message read. “He lied to anyone that would listen and paid bloggers to disseminate false information about the case on social media.”
The statement continued: “He released music videos and songs to damage my character and continue his crusade. At first, he tried to deny the shooting never happened. Then, he attempted to place the blame on my former best friend. In his tantrum of lies, he’s blamed the system, blamed the press and, as of late, he’s using his childhood trauma to shield himself and avoid culpability.”