Eminem bids farewell to Slim Shady alter-ego: 'People are more sensitive now'


Eminem has officially bid farewell to his Slim Shady alter-ego.

On Tuesday, editors at Complex magazine published an 11-minute clip titled Slim Shady vs. Marshall Mathers: The Face-Off to accompany a cover story for the July 2024 issue.

The surreal video shows Eminem - real name Marshall Mathers - speaking to a younger version of his Slim Shady persona made using artificial intelligence (AI).

After Slim claims no one wants to hear his "lyrical miracles", Eminem responds, "So you think it's entertaining to just be a d**khead and p**s people off?

"Look, man. I've grown up, bro. My fanbase has grown up. The world's changed. F**king people are way more sensitive now," he continues. "Every other week on TikTok, Gen-Z discovers you on Monday and cancels me on Tuesday."

In addition, Eminem claims Slim was the "reason I had to self-medicate" and "why I almost lost my f**king career, my family, my life".

"Life's been great since you've been gone," the 51-year-old declares, seemingly referring to being sober since 2008.

Elsewhere, Eminem and Slim argue over which persona is more important to fans.

"You're not f**king Taylor Swift. You had one 'era' that mattered. Mine. Everything people think of when they think of Eminem is f**king yours truly," Slim quips.

And Eminem also calls out his alter-ego over his "obsession" with actor Christopher Reeve.

The Superman star, who was paralysed following a horse-riding accident in 1995, died in 2004 at the age of 52.

"Christopher Reeves was Superman!" Slim asserts, mispronouncing the actor's surname. "What are you talking about? I'm trying to pay homage. It's funny, 'cause he was f**king Superman and he fell off a horse."

"How is that funny, bro? It's not funny," Eminem responds. "The guy f**king fell off a horse, yeah, he's dead. He's been dead for 20 f**king years man, leave him alone. Whatever. You know it's not Reeves, right? There's no S. It's just Reeve."

"Then why is there an S on his chest?" asks Slim, to which Eminem replies, "I don't know, f**king pronouns, bro. I don't know."

Eminem released his twelfth studio album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce), earlier this month.