CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
ALL
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Obsessed
  • Politics
  • Crime
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • Innovation
  • Opinion
  • World
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
CHEAT SHEET
    POLITICS
    • Fever Dreams
    • Biden World
    • Elections
    • Opinion
    • National Security
    • Congress
    • Pay Dirt
    • The New Abnormal
    • Right Richter
    • Trumpland
    MEDIA
    • Confider
    • Daytime Talk
    • Late-Night
    • Fox News
    U.S. NEWS
    • Identities
    • Crime
    • Race
    • LGBT
    • Extremism
    • Coronavirus
    WORLD
    • Russia
    • Europe
    • China
    • Middle East
    INNOVATION
    • Science
    TRAVEL
      ENTERTAINMENT
      • TV
      • Movies
      • Music
      • Comedy
      • Sports
      • Sex
      • TDB's Obsessed
      • Awards Shows
      • The Last Laugh
      CULTURE
      • Power Trip
      • Fashion
      • Books
      • Royalist
      TECH
      • Disinformation
      SCOUTED
      • Clothing
      • Technology
      • Beauty
      • Home
      • Pets
      • Kitchen
      • Fitness
      • I'm Looking For
      BEST PICKS
      • Best VPNs
      • Best Gaming PCs
      • Best Air Fryers
      COUPONS
      • Vistaprint Coupons
      • Ulta Coupons
      • Office Depot Coupons
      • Adidas Promo Codes
      • Walmart Promo Codes
      • H&M Coupons
      • Spanx Promo Codes
      • StubHub Promo Codes
      Products
      NewslettersPodcastsCrosswordsSubscription
      FOLLOW US
      GOT A TIP?

      SEARCH

      HOMEPAGE
      Music

      Eminem Offends Victim’s Family With Joke About Ariana Grande Concert Bombing

      NO TEARS LEFT TO CRY

      The 2017 Manchester Arena bombing killed 22 and maimed many more. So why did Eminem think the atrocity made a smart pop-cultural reference about his own impact on the music biz?

      Tom Sykes

      Royalist Correspondent

      Updated Jan. 17, 2020 5:23PM ET / Published Jan. 17, 2020 8:22AM ET 

      Frederick M. Brown

      At what point would someone maybe say to Marshall Mathers, “Hey, about this lyric, do you think, you know, maybe not?”

      Eminem, 47, is used to causing controversy in a career which has seen him riff off everything from 9/11 to Britney Spears, but this may be his most tasteless track yet.

      On his new album, Music to Be Murdered By, which dropped without warning Thursday night, he makes light of the horrific bombing of an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, nearly three years ago, in which 22 people were killed.

      The song, “Unaccommodating,” features Eminem rapping at a blistering speed about how awesome he is. It has a chorus in which he compares himself to Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and John Wayne Gacy while referencing the murder of JonBenet Ramsay.

      Here comes Saddam Hussein, Ayatollah Khomeini

      Where’s Osama been? I been laden lately

      Look at how I’m behaving, they want me gone away

      They wanna JonBenet me (Fuck you),

      I’m unaccommodating Man, I don’t see why they hate me

      I’m a clown like John Wayne Gacy

      While such comparisons have become de rigueur for Eminem and his contemporaries, jokily referencing mass murder at music concerts definitely isn’t, so if Eminem’s aim was to cause outrage then he definitely succeeds when he raps:

      I’m contemplating yelling ‘Bombs away’ on the game

      Like I’m outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting.

      An army of online rap annotaters have been busily trying to explain the line, with the consensus being that Eminem is using the comparison to describe the impact of his music on the industry (“the game”), drawing a parallel between his releases and, er, suicide bombs.

      The mother of Martyn Hett—who died at Manchester Arena at the age of 29—accused the rapper of having “no sense.”

      Plenty of other people also criticized the Detroit pop star.

      Supporters of Eminem have defended him, and argue the inclusion of the line while controversial is not disrespectful or mocking the victims of the tragedy.

      Numerous also are those who have noted that Grande defended her then-fiancé Pete Davidson when he made a joke about the attack.

      During a show at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, five months after the attack on May 22, 2017, Davidson said Grande was bigger than Britney Spears because “Britney Spears didn’t have a terrorist attack at her concert.” 

      Grande said that she “didn’t find it funny,” but added, “It was months ago and his intention wasn’t/ is never malicious, but it was unfortunate.”

      READ THIS LIST

      DAILY BEAST
      • Cheat Sheet
      • Politics
      • Entertainment
      • Media
      • World
      • Innovation
      • U.S. News
      • Scouted
      • Travel
      • Subscription
      • Crossword
      • Newsletters
      • Podcasts
      • About
      • Contact
      • Tips
      • Jobs
      • Advertise
      • Help
      • Privacy
      • Code of Ethics & Standards
      • Diversity
      • Terms & Conditions
      • Copyright & Trademark
      • Sitemap
      • Best Picks
      • Coupons
      • Coupons:
      • Dick's Sporting Goods Coupons
      • HP Coupon Codes
      • Chewy Promo Codes
      • Nordstrom Rack Coupons
      • NordVPN Coupons
      • JCPenny Coupons
      • Nordstrom Coupons
      • Samsung Promo Coupons
      • Home Depot Coupons
      • Hotwire Promo Codes
      • eBay Coupons
      • Ashley Furniture Promo Codes
      © 2023 The Daily Beast Company LLC