Gen Z and millennials are at war over Eminem’s attempt to cancel

From Esquire

On Friday, Eminem released an animated lyric video for the 2020 single “Tone Deaf,” which appears to be a response to a TikTok campaign aimed at canceling the 48-year-old rapper. The video, in typical Eminem antagonistic fashion, features footage of disgraced figures like Bill Cosby and Harvey Weinstein. It’s the latest in a growing #canceleminem movement that has highlighted the divide between millennial Eminem fans and younger Gen Z critics.

Posting the video with the lyrics, he quoted lines from his own song: “I won’t stop even when my hair turns gray (I’m deaf) / ‘Cause they won’t stop until they won’t cancel me.”

This particular clash began in February, when a TikTok user, who has since been deleted from the app, uploaded a short clip of Eminem and Rihanna’s 2010 song, “Love the Way You Lie.” . The user started with the following line: “If she ever tries to leave again I will tie her to the bed and set this house on fire.” In the text written on the uploaded video, the user wrote: “Yes, let’s cancel it. »

Since then, that first post has gone viral, launching an age-old debate over the artistic value of Eminem’s controversial lyrics in an era of heightened sensitivity. Posts linked to the hashtag #canceleminem currently had around 3 million views as of Monday. A quick scroll through the videos indicates that the hashtag was commandeered by Eminem fans who defend the rapper. Many of these fans point out that Eminem has always been controversial and that this particular Gen Z campaign is nothing new.

Another user claims the purpose of “Love the Way You Lie” is to bring attention to domestic assault, referencing the fact that Rihanna, an abuse survivor who was assaulted by Chris Brown, is the singer star of the song. Rihanna herself has defended the song’s message in the past. “It was just authentic. It was real,” Rihanna said of the song in 2010. “It was believable for us to make a record like that, but it was also something that had to be did it, and the way he did it was so smart. He pretty much just broke the cycle of domestic violence, and it’s something that a lot of people don’t have a lot of understanding about, so this. song is a really powerful song, and it touches a lot of people.”

But the most common refrain, from Millennials in particular, is that “Love the Way You Lie” is one of Eminem’s tamer songs, especially when compared to songs like “Superman” and “Kim ”, which contain the words:

This seems to be the most popular defense of Eminem among older generations: Eminem’s music has always been controversial, and critics have tried to belittle him throughout his career. Users also pointed out the long list of feuds and conflicts Eminem has been involved in over the years, most of which he has emerged relatively unscathed. In recent years, in the era of public outcry over celebrity responsibility, Eminem has largely avoided any sort of tangible blowback for his lyrics, which glorified misogyny, domestic violence, homophobia and murder.

This particular debate comes at a time when Gen Z has been labeled “puritan” by older generations due to popular campaigns to “cancel porn,” as Call Me By Your Name acknowledges. as A movie about groomingand makes fun of Hamilton.

While “Tone Deaf” was released in January 2020, well before this current campaign to cancel Eminem, the song is an unsurprising example of how the provocateur has responded to criticism throughout his career. In the song, Eminem – always one to take the bait – doubles down on his reputation, opposing cancel culture and alleging that “they won’t stop until they get me canceled “. It also refers to a number of powerful men whose crimes against women have landed them in prison in recent years:

This all comes from the playbook Eminem has used throughout his career. And while Eminem will likely avoid any serious cancellation efforts, as he always has, this conflict represents a persistent divide between Millennials and Gen Z when it comes to re-examining popular culture. If anything, it seems to highlight the shift in Eminem’s own legacy and why he seems increasingly concerned about how he will be remembered.

Eminem has always used these conversations as a way to promote himself and present himself as an outsider. And as we’ve seen in recent months, any serious attempt to “cancel” someone can seriously backfire, which was the case with Morgan Wallen dominating the charts after being caught on camera with a slur racial and with Dr. Seuss books occupying 13 of the charts. top 20 best-selling books on Amazon after the Seuss estate suspended production of six rather obscure Seuss titles. As of Monday afternoon, Eminem occupied seven of the top 30 spots on Apple’s hip hop and rap albums chart. It seems that, at least for now, Eminem isn’t really going anywhere.

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