Do you know what The Interview DOESN’T need at the moment? More headlines because of its borderline-controversial material. The latest pot being stirred by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s comedy has nothing to do with North Korea or its leader, Kim Jong-un, though. Today, the rap community is reacting to a cameo that opens the film, where Eminem finally reveals his "true" colors.
This isn’t exactly a spoiler, though it does reveal the opening sequence of the film – and it convinces a celebrity to pop up in yet another Seth Rogen comedy and spoof the public’s perception of their reality. (Rent This Is The End for several more examples.) This time, it’s rap star Eminem, who admits during a televised interview with James Franco’s character, Dave Skylark, that he’s gay. As you might imagine, the team in the production booth – led by Rogen’s character, Aaron Rapaport – reacts accordingly in this TMZ-infused, hyper-sensitive, pop-culture media landscape.
Eminem treats the whole thing very seriously, telling Franco’s character that he has been "playing gay peek-a-boo" with his fans, and has "pretty much been leaving a bread crumb trail of gayness" for his fans to follow back to the truth. You can watch the scene from Sony’s comedy here on Billboard.com, but don’t be surprised if it gets pulled down, soon.
You have to hand it to Eminem for putting himself out there for the benefit of a joke. Twitter is hitting him up for participating in the scene, with haters and supporters weighing in at a pretty even clip. Some who’ve seen the movie state:
While others bypass the brutality aimed at Kim Jon-un and critique:
Without diving too deeply into the cesspool that is Twitter, there were plenty of opinions about Eminem, the scene, and the movie as The Interview continued to be streamed over Christmas break.
This is a recurring theme on Twitter, that Eminem would have to be paid to say that he's gay. Why?
Some even referenced Em's penchant for threatening women:
Others cooked up a new theory that North Korea wasn't behind the blocking of The Interview from theaters. It was Eminem. Because he didn't want the world to know the "truth" about his sexuality:
Allegedly, this scene was supposed to be slightly different, though. According to Showbiz 411, in a December 17 Tweet:
And yet, Eminem frequently has used his celebrity and his public persona to shine a light on homosexuality and gay rights. Prior to participating in The Interview, Eminem’s biggest visible display had to be his duet with openly gay Elton John at the Grammy Awards.
It’s a shame The Interview isn’t opening as wide as planned, because we’d love to hear more reaction to Eminem’s amusing cameo. It’s always fun when a performer plays against the labels that have been affixed to them by the media and fans. Good for Marshall Mathers for continuing to change how people perceive him… and for proving he has a sense of humor.
