Celebs Who Can't Stand Eminem
It's hard to argue with the fact that Eminem is one of the biggest, most successful rappers of all time with an estimated net worth of $230 million and a mind-blowing 44 Grammy nominations and 15 wins (as of 2020).
The Missouri native dropped his first studio album, The Slim Shady LP, back in 1999 and instantly made a name for himself by shading people at every turn. Although he told The New York Times Magazine that his "overall look on things is a lot more mature than it used to be" it still hasn't stopped Slim Shady from dishing out insults and speaking his mind about anyone who might be criticizing him, his music, or his family.
Over the years, he's started his share of feuds, but he's also sparked beefs as a form of retaliation with folks who went after him first. Given Em's talent for calling people out, it's no surprise he's got a long list of haters, and many of them are A-listers. These are the celebs who just can't stand Eminem.
Mariah Carey and Eminem's 'personalities collided'
While there are many celebs who can't stand Mariah Carey, this one began as a simple collab request. Per In Touch, in 2001, Carey invited Eminem to appear on her Charmbracelet album — subsequently turning into a full-blown showdown as the pair couldn't agree on their relationship status.
While Em proclaimed to Detroit News (via People) that they "did have a relationship for about a good six, seven months," the diva was singing a different tune. In 2002, Carey told Larry King that there was nothing there, explaining, "I think I was probably with him a total of four times. And I don't consider that dating somebody." That same year, she also released "Clown" on which she appeared to reference Slim Shady, singing, "You should've never intimated we were lovers / When you know very well we never even touched each other."
While one song for Carey was enough at the time, Eminem name-checked her on "Superman" — "What, you tryin' to be my new wife? What, you Mariah?" — as well as 2002's "When the Music Stops," 2006's "Jimmy Crack Corn," and 2009's "Bagpipes From Baghdad" and "The Warning." Deciding to forego subtlety, Carey released 2009's "Obsessed" in which she asked, "Why are you so obsessed with me? Boy, I wanna know, lying that you're sexing me." The track's music video took things even further by featuring Carey playing a male character who is very clearly meant to parody Em.
Nick Cannon thinks Eminem is a 'natural born racist'
Mariah Carey and Eminem made their feud a family affair by involving Carey's then-husband Nick Cannon. In 2009, Em dropped "Bagpipes From Baghdad," on which he asked, "Mariah, what ever happened to us?" before adding, "Nick, you had your fun, I've come to kick you in your sack of junk."
Cannon responded in a since-deleted Tumblr post (via Billboard), slamming, "I don't know why no one has stood up to your b**** a** yet. But I guess it's going to take a corny, wack rapping, boy toy from Nickelodeon to set you straight. And trust, I am going to be relentless," he assured before dubbing Eminem a "natural born racist in disguise."
A decade later, their beef was rehashed when Cannon revealed on expediTIously that he had initially written Em a "long-a** letter" to explain he wasn't going to tolerate anyone "talking out of pocket to [his] wife." Em retaliated with "Lord Above," rapping that Cannon "got his jewels clipped," so Cannon clapped back on Instagram, writing, "@FatJoe album is [fire]. Star studded, he even did some charity work and dug @Eminem out his grave, I mean cave!!" He also released a questionable diss track called "The Invitation," which starts with "Check this out, uh, Eminem, whatever your name is, right." Despite how petty this all seems, Cannon told Billboard in 2020 that there's no end in sight. "If he keeps talking about me, I'm gonna keep talking back," he said.
Tyler, the Creator accused Eminem of having 'the worst beats ever'
In 2018, Eminem surprised fans with the release of Kamikaze, and no one was safe, including Tyler, the Creator who previously criticized Em's "Walk On Water," tweeting, "Dear god this song is horrible sheesh how the f***."
Eminem looked for revenge on "Fall," rapping, "Tyler create nothin' / I see why you called yourself a f*****, b****." While he later admitted the homophobic slur went "too far," Tyler completely ignored the diss. It wasn't until July 2019 that he appeared to fire back by trashing Eminem's newer music. "People trashed [Relapse], and he came with the Recovery s*** with the pop hooks," he told Hot 97's Funkmaster Flex. Accusing Em of caving to fans requesting "the old Em," he added, "It feels like he read that and was like, 'Damn, you know what? F***, let me go back and try to rehash a moment.' And when people go back, that is the grossest f***ing thing," he proclaimed. "Move forward, get what you're into for real."
Tyler also told Rick Rubin, "He picked some of the worst beats ever," although added, "their energy and their cool witty lines is what made the songs cool." Jump to October 2019, and he denied ever having addressed the diss, telling The Guardian, "Did you ever hear me publicly say anything about that? Because I knew what the intent was," he claimed. "He felt pressured because people got offended for me."
Moby and Eminem almost got physical at the MTV VMAs
Eminem made headlines for his 2001 Grammy duet with Elton John, but not everyone was impressed. Speaking with Rolling Stone backstage, Moby told the outlet that Em is "very good at what he does, but he's also a misogynist and homophobe and racist and anti-Semite. I'm 33 and can see through it, but I can't imagine that an eight-year-old in Idaho sees it as just a joke," he noted.
Eminem wasn't about to take that criticism quietly. He first responded via 2002's "Without Me," rapping, "And Moby? You can get stomped by Obie / You 36-year-old baldheaded f**, blow me." He then kept the animosity going at the MTV Video Music Awards. First, he crashed an interview Moby was doing, "[thrusting] a middle finger into his face" off-camera, MTV reports — then, while accepting the Best Male Video award, he called Moby a "little girl" and threatened, "I will hit a man with glasses."
Moby shared his side of the story on his website, writing (via MTV), "The truth is that I honestly ... thought that the whole Eminem thing was done in some semblance of humor until Eminem called me a p**** (that was off-camera) and then threatened to beat me up." Keeping his integrity in-tact, he added, "I think that Eminem is talented and interesting but I'm kind of stunned at the anger that he has for me seeing as I'd never met him up until last night."
Ja Rule and Eminem sparred over Em's daughter
Eminem was happy sitting on the sidelines of his friend 50 Cent's feud with Ja Rule until the latter took aim at his daughter, Hailie. "Em, you claim your mother's a crackhead / And Kim is a known s*** / So what's Hailie gon' be when she grows up?" Ja slammed on 2003's "Loose Change." Making it very clear that his daughter's off-limits, Em retaliated on 2003's "Doe Rae Me (Hailie's Revenge)," which featured the rapper asking, "Hailie, what do you want to be when you grow up, baby?" and her answering, "I don't know, but I don't want to grow up to be like Ja Rule's little dirty-a** kids." Slim Shady kept the blows coming on "Bully," "Hail Mary," and "Like Toy Soldiers."
As Billboard noted, the beef "helped accelerate the downward trajectory" of Ja Rule's career, but he wasn't about to lose face. Over a decade later, when Eminem brought up the beef on 2018's "Greatest" with the line "I hear you talking s*** / I'm just too big to respond to it [...] Cause if I lose it we can rewind to some old Ja Rule s***," he tried his best to get the last word. Ja Rule tweeted, "Guess that Halie line must be starting to hit home..." then took to Instagram to add, "The more Em Mentions my name the more I realize how fu**ing LEGENDARY I am." Uh... right.
Machine Gun Kelly didn't learn anything from Ja Rule
Machine Gun Kelly should have learned from Ja Rule. Instead, he tweeted about Em's then-16-year-old daughter in 2012, writing, "I have to say, [Hailie] is hot as f***, in the most respectful way possible cuz Em is king." He tried to justify himself in 2015, telling Hot 97 FM, "What's wrong with that? Is there a 15-year age gap where I'm a creep for that? I was 21, dawg" and accusing Em of sabotaging his career. "Certain people won't even listen or review [my album]," he claimed.
Meanwhile, Em waited until 2018 to respond on "Not Alike," proclaiming, "I respond rarely, but this time Shady 'bout to sound off [...] Let me put a f****** silencer on this little / Non-threatening blond fairy cornball takin' shots at me." He also addressed MGK's sabotage claims to legendary rapper Sway, saying, "I don't give a f*** about your career. You think I actually f****** think about you?"
The sparring continued as MGK responded with 2018's "Rap Devil" on which he mentioned Hailie again — "Tough talk from a rapper paying millions for security a year / 'I think my dad's gone crazy,' yeah, Hailie, you right" — and when Em proclaimed "the war" was "finished" in 2020, MGK tweeted, "[I'm] mad AF I just stepped out a loud room to hear this bull****." Clearly, he's not ready to let Em go just yet.
Christina Aguilera thinks Eminem is 'thirsty'
Eminem hasn't just made enemies in the rap world — he's also feuding with pop stars. As Billboard noted, Christina Aguilera got on Em's bad side in 1999 when, during an MTV interview, she revealed he had secretly married his longtime girlfriend, Kim. The rapper fired off on 2000's "The Real Slim Shady," slamming, "Little b**** put me on blast on MTV / 'Yeah he's cute but I think he's married to Kim, hee-hee' / I should download her audio on mp3 / And show the whole world how you gave Eminem V.D." Aguilera quickly fired back with 2002's "Can't Hold Us Down" and is still proud of the way she handled the feud. Speaking with Billboard in 2018, she said, "What was great was how bada** I was at such a young age to then write 'Can't Hold Us Down.'"
That same year, Em attacked her on a freestyle called "Kick Off," rapping, "F*** Christina with a plastic spoon." The following year, in 2019, Andy Cohen asked her about their ongoing animosity, and Aguilera had the perfect response yet again. "That's real in the past, and, you know, it was thirsty then, it's thirsty now," she started. "It's not nice to go after anybody, especially a female and in this business and now, what we're looking at and seeing, and things that are coming to the forefront, it's just, you know, get a new gig. Have something else to talk about," she proclaimed.
Insane Clown Posse didn't appreciate Em's marketing tricks
Explaining the bizarre feud that started with a poster in the '90s, Insane Clown Posse's Violent J told Vlad TV, "We went into Saint Andrew's [Hall], and they had hip-hop night [...] Eminem walked up and gave us a flyer. It said 'Record Release Party' for, I guess, it was for his outfit," and ICP was billed as a special guest. When they asked why their name was on the flyer, Em responded, "'I'm not saying you guys gonna be there, it says 'Invited.'" That was the first strike. The second was the 2000 lyric "F*** ICP, buy my CD."
"We had a radio show at the time, and we took his song 'Slim Shady' and we did a remix of it and turned it into 'Slim A***,'" Violent J said of the escalating beef, adding, "All kinds of s*** happened between our camps." Like, in 2001, when their road manager was arrested for beating up a concertgoer who waved an Eminem shirt at an ICP show. Even so, ICP confirmed to MTV in 2010 that the fighting was over after 11 years, but in 2012, they sang a different tune. Shaggy 2 Dope told MLive Em's "got skills, but to me it just sounds repetitive and whatnot" while Violent J confirmed their relationship was still "not cool," adding, "You know, he's just not our personal favorite." Trying to be the bigger person, he concluded, "I respect him, though."
Joe Budden is sure he 'killed' Eminem
Rapper-turned-broadcaster Joe Budden isn't about to let Eminem put a dent in his self-esteem. After Budden dragged "Untouchable" on his podcast in 2017, calling the track (via Hot New Hip Hop) "one of the worst records [he's] ever heard," Eminem shot back with not one, but two diss tracks on 2018's Kamikaze. Going after Budden on both "The Ringer" and "Fall," Em rapped, "Somebody tell Budden before I snap, he better fasten it / Or have his body baggage zipped."
Unfortunately, the threat fell on deaf ears. Using his podcast to respond, Budden made it very clear who he thinks is on top of the rap game. "Let me tell you what Joe Budden has thought this entire time: I've been better than you this entire f****** decade," he snapped (via NME). The pair's feud has since continued to bubble over the years until, in January 2020, Budden told listeners of The Joe Budden Podcast, "He should stop dissing me." And while he appeared to officially be putting the beef behind him, he didn't pass up the opportunity to include a subtle diss at Slim Shady. "I don't be mad at the people I come in here and kill," he proclaimed. "There's no hostility after that." Maybe it's not water under the bridge after all?