One of the lyrics onEminem‘ssurprise albumMusic to Be Murdered Byis sparking backlash for its reference to the 2017 bombing at anAriana Grandeconcert in Manchester, U.K.
Though the new album just dropped on Friday, the 47-year-old rapper has already stirred up online controversy for his track “Unaccommodating,” which features a lyric that referencesthe attackat Grande’s concert that killed 22 people.
“I refuse to believe making fun of terrorist attacks is still a thing in 2020,” one userwrotealongside the hashtag. “Disgusting.”
Anotherwrote, “I wish I could unhear this. this is so low & disgusting. this isn’t something to joke about for money & clout! I can’t believe this would even cross his mind.”
David Becker/Getty; Kevin Mazur/WireImage
“I love Eminem but this guy really has a bar in his new song mocking theAriana Grandeconcert bombing and then has a explosion noise straight after…” a third usertweeted.
Figen Murray, the mother of Martyn Hett, who was killed in the bombing, also spoke out about the song on Twitter,writing, “Feels like he is piggybacking on the fame of Ariana Grande andJustin Bieberand says distasteful things about other celebrities. Not clever. Totally pointless. And before all Eminem fans pounce on me, I am not interested and will not engage.”
In 2018, Grande, 26, opened up toVogueU.K.about herbattle with anxiety and post traumatic stress disorderfollowing the fatal bombing.
“It’s hard to talk about because so many people have suffered such severe, tremendous loss,” Grande told the magazine. “But, yeah, it’s a real thing. I know those families and my fans, and everyone there experienced a tremendous amount of it as well. Time is the biggest thing.”
During another interview withTIMEin 2018, the pop star said: “Music is supposed to be the safest thing in the world. I think that’s why it’s still so heavy on my heart every single day. … I wish there was more that I could fix. You think with time it’ll become easier to talk about. Or you’ll make peace with it. But every day I wait for that peace to come and it’s still very painful.”
In 2017, Eminem wasone of the musicianswho pledged their support to the victims and families of the Manchester bombing. In a tweet, the rapper urged fans to contribute to a crowdfunding page with a 2 million pound ($2,570,000) goal, and also contributed an undisclosed personal donation.
source: people.com
