In a very long new interview with Billboard, Paul Rosenberg and Eminem sat down to talk about everything from their humble beginnings to Eminem’s 9th studio album Revival. When the conversation eventually led to a discussion about Trump and Eminem’s performance of "The Storm" in October, the rapper opened up about what pushed him to publicly bash Trump during the BET Hip Hop Awards.
"He made these people feel like he was really going to do something for them. It’s just so fucking disgusting how divisive his language is, the rhetoric, the Charlottesville shit, just watching it going, 'I can’t believe he’s saying this,'" Eminem told Billboard.
The Detroit rapper received criticism from both sides after his BET performance. Many celebrated the verse he dropped, but some critics argued Trump and Eminem are basically cut from the same cloth. Trump supporters, meanwhile, also had mixed reactions. Some stood by their love for Eminem despite his comments about the President, while others decided they totally fucking hated Eminem after his performance was over.
Eminem used his Billboard interview to clarify that him and Trump are not the same. "When I [put out "The Storm"], I felt that everybody who was with [Trump] at that point doesn’t like my music anyway. I get the comparison with the non-political-correctness, but other than that, we’re polar opposites," he said.
Eminem also revealed that no matter what people think of him after "The Storm," he doesn’t really care. "At the end of the day, if I did lose half my fan base, then so be it," he said. "Because I feel like I stood up for what was right and I'm on the right side of this. I don't see how somebody could be middle class, busting their ass every single day, paycheck to paycheck, who thinks that that fucking billionaire is gonna help you."
The rapper addressed some of this in his "Chloraseptic" remix released earlier this month. "Then I took a stand, went at Tan-Face and practically cut my motherfuckin' fan base in half and still outsold you," he rapped. While Revival did successfully stay on the Billboard 200 Top 10 for weeks after its release, it pushed half as many units as previous Slim Shady albums.
You can read the full Eminem interview here.
