Michael Jackson and Eminem had a tumultuous relationship while he was alive. However, as fate would have it, MJ appears to be the last man standing — even after death.
You may recall that in Eminem’s early years, he didn’t mind throwing low-blows at other musicians. Michael Jackson was one of them. Michael Jackson couldn’t understand why the rapper singled him out, especially because he had never had a problem with any of his peers.
Jackson is said to have questioned Eminem’s motivations multiple times before taking action against him. The rapper, on the other hand, persevered. That’s when Michael appeared to have had enough.
Eminem has now mellowed out.
Unfortunately, it took a lot of life lessons to get there. Nonetheless, considering his own recent turmoil, the rapper claims to have a much greater grasp of what Michael Jackson went through at this moment.
But, surely, you’re curious as to how Jackson gets the last laugh?
In 2004, the rapper produced a song called “Just Lose It,” in which he attacked Jackson for everything from child molestation claims to his hair catching fire during a 1984 Pepsi commercial shoot.
Michael took action when the song received a lot of radio and he was constantly mocked. To begin, he publicly asked that all cable music video stations in the United States stop broadcasting Eminem’s video. According to The Guardian, they did just that.
“I am very angry at Eminem’s depiction of me in his video,” Jackson mentioned at the time. “I feel that it is outrageous and disrespectful. It is one thing to spoof, but it is another to be demeaning and insensitive.”
“I’ve admired Eminem as an artist and was shocked by this. The video was inappropriate and disrespectful to me, my children, my family, and the community at large.”
One thing Michael realized was that if he let money speak for him, he might become your boss without your agreement. According to The Guardian, Jackson paid $47.5 million for ATV, which owned The Beatles’ complete repertoire.
Michael then turned around and sold a quarter of ATV to Sony.
“Yesterday’s deal means Sony/ATV owns the rights to over 125,000 songs, of which Eminem is one of the most high-profile and profitable,” the source reported in 2007 after the transaction occurred.
According to Rolling Stone, Eminem (now 48) later agreed to an interview with Complex in which he opted to speak up on a variety of themes, including drug abuse.
During his break, Eminem grew significantly addicted to Vicodin, according to the insider, and blamed the drug for his weight gain. At that point, he totally comprehended Michael’s circumstance and asserted that being a celebrity of Michael’s stature may be lethal.
“I definitely can relate, and it’s a shame if he didn’t have anybody there to just say, ‘Michael, you’re an addict, you need help,’” Eminem told the source.
When the rapper became clean, he began to make changes in his life, including his appearance. He’d even had enough of his blonde hair.
“Once I got sober I was like, ‘What the f**k am I doing? I’m like 35 years old, am I going to keep dying my hair f**king blond?’ Also, it was just about letting go.”
According to the source, his blonde hair reportedly reminded him of his addiction.
“I hated myself when I was in my addiction,” Eminem mentioned. “I hated myself worse than anyone could ever hate me.”
Isn’t it amazing how the tables can turn? Life has a way of throwing you a curveball when you least expect it. Probably in a million years, the rapper would’ve never dreamed Michael Jackson would own his back-catalog.
