Eminem doesn’t care if he lost "half [his] fan base" because of his attack on President Donald Trump.
The 45-year-old rapper sparked a backlash at the BET Hip-Hop Awards in October thanks to his freestyle ‘The Storm’, in which he lashed out at the controversial US leader, and he doesn’t care it upset some of his loyal supporters because he would rather stand up for what is "right" and be honest about his true feelings.
He said: "At the end of the day, if I did lose half my fan base, then so be it, 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, paycheque to paycheque, who thinks that that f***ing billionaire is gonna help you…
"I knew it would get a reaction, obviously; that’s what I rap to do. But where I was coming from in that cypher was a genuine place in my heart.
"I [hesitate] to say [I have] hatred in my heart for him, but it’s serious contempt. I do not like the guy."
And Eminem insists the president shouldn’t be off limits when it comes to expressing himself and his opinions in his music.
He told Billboard magazine: "I know I say a lot of f***ed-up s**t.
"But a lot of s**t is said in jest, it’s tongue-in-cheek, and it has always been that way through my whole career – saying s**t to get a reaction out of people.
"It’s my artistic license to express myself. Last time I checked, Trump isn’t an artist and doesn’t have an artistic license. I’m not the f***in’ president."
The ‘Real Slim Shady’ hitmaker can understand why there has been some crossover between his fanbase and the president’s supporters, but he insists they are "polar opposites".
He said: "When I [put out ‘The Storm’], I felt that everybody who was with him 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 made these people feel like he was really going to do something for them. It’s just so f***ing disgusting how divisive his language is, the rhetoric, the Charlottesville s**t, just watching it going, ‘I can’t believe he’s saying this.’
"When he was talking about John McCain, I thought he was done. You’re f***ing with military veterans, you’re talking about a military war hero who was captured and tortured. It just didn’t matter. It doesn’t matter. And that’s some scary s**t to me."
And Eminem thinks even a "f***ing turd" would do a better job as president than the former ‘Apprentice’ star.
He said: "I know that Hillary [Clinton] had her flaws, but you know what? Anything would have been better [than Trump]. A f***ing turd would have been better as a president."
Eminem not worried about losing fans
