Is Eminem Gay? New Details On The New Allegations Surrounding Slim Shady And His New Song 'What If I Was Gay'
Which could it be?
getty Marshall Bruce Mathers III is a man that needs no introduction. Born in Detroit, Michigan, the man who would become known as Eminem first broke through to the mainstream in 1997, when his Slim Shady EP caught the attention of Dr. Dre.
The former NWA rapper signed the rising star to his then-fledgling label, Aftermath Records, after he defected from the problematic Death Row Records. Today, Eminem has sold more than 230 million albums worldwide, and is considered one of the greatest — and most influential — rappers of all time.
But his latest leaked track, which was first leaked in October 2019 — a joint track with Joyner Lucas called "What If I Was Gay" — has opened up the floodgates of rumors, yet again.
Here's what we know about the question: Is Eminem gay?
1. Eminem admitted to using Grindr in the past.
Grindr is a well-known dating app for gay men, and according to an interview, Eminem claimed to use the app to find "dates" after his divorce from his wife, Kim, was finalized.
Fans weren't sure if Eminem was being serious, or joking, at the time.
2. Eminem has been criticized for his use of homophobic slurs in his music.
"It’s astonishing, really, that after 30 years in the game Eminem, who began rapping when he was 14, still hasn’t found a new insult. Better yet, one that doesn’t slur a person based on their sexuality. What really grates, though, is that Kamikaze is only a reminder that while Tyler [rapper Tyler, the Creator, whom Eminem took aim at in the song 'Fall' off the Kamikaze album] is still banned from the UK, Eminem will continue to rake in millions from record sales and touring in Britain without repercussions for a two decade-long career of verbally abusing minorities," one writer said of the rapper's lyrics.
3. He's good friends with Elton John.
Elton John is one of the most popular, and most openly gay, men in the music industry today. It would stand to reason then that he wouldn't be friends with someone who is a homophobe.
Elton John first met Eminem when they performed at the 2001 Grammys together, and after a rocky start, struck up a long-term friendship. In fact, they're so close that John was the person the rapper called when he was battling his drug addiction.
He opened up about it in 2009, saying, "When I first wanted to get sober, I called [Elton] and spoke to him about it. He's somebody who's in the business and can identify and relate to the lifestyle and how hectic things can be. He understands ... the pressure and any other reasons that you want to come up with for doing drugs."
4. Eminem has apologized for his use of homophobic slurs in the past ... but used one again in 2018.
Even though Eminem has apologized for the use of homophobic slurs in the past — most notably to Caitlin Jenner, whom he referred to as a "little b*tch," amongst other things we can't reprint here — he used one again in 2018.
On the song "Fall," which can be found on his Kamikaze album, Eminem refers to the rapper Tyler, The Creator, by a homophobic term for gay men.
5. The rapper's "What If I Was Gay" track was leaked on YouTube in November 2019.
The "leaked" sped-up track which started this whole round of rumors can be heard here.
Through his representatives, Eminem made clear that he is not, in fact, gay. In the past, Eminem has also made clear that he's heterosexual.
7. Recently, Nick Cannon implied that the rapper may be gay.
Eminem has had a long-standing feud with fellow rapper and actor Nick Cannon — or at least that's what Cannon himself may think, since he released three diss tracks against Eminem without any response back at all from the famous rapper.
However, that all changed in December 2019 when Eminem fired back at Cannon and his ex-wife Mariah Carey on the song "Lord Above," which he recorded with Fat Joe.
Of course, Cannon wasn't backing down without a fight and was quick to respond in December 2019 when his newest diss track "The Invitation" was released, and it targeted not only Eminem's family, but also took a shot at the rapper's sexuality.
In the track, Cannon accuses the rapper of paying off his chauffeur so that a video of the rapper with another man wouldn't ever be released, saying, "Call Kim, somebody get Hailey and that other kid you raising that ain't even your baby."
Eminem was quick to respond through a tweet, which urged Cannon to "stop lying" and that Eminem "never even had a chaueffeur."
Bernadette Giacomazzo is an editor, writer, and photographer whose work has appeared in People, Teen Vogue, Us Weekly, The Source, XXL, HipHopDX, The Los Angeles Times, The New York Post, and more.