Though Eminem is no stranger to controversy, it is his most recent and alleged use of sound effects that have landed the rapper in hot water.
After closing out his headlining performance at Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on Saturday night with the 2002's "Kill You," fans reported that Eminem had used a realistic gunshot sound effect that caused many festival-goers to scream and drop to the ground.
coming from a performing stand point, i get the effect of sound effects on stage, but there’s a certain point that cross’s the line. i’m one of eminem’s number 1 fans but to hear 3 gun shots coming straight from his set had me scared af. not gonna lie. especially in this world...
— M (@macykatemusic) June 10, 2018
when eminem let off the gunshot sound effect at his bonnaroo set last night, the whole place went silent because we all thought it was real....im hella disappointed in slim shady now smh
— jenna whalin (@jen_MCR15) June 10, 2018
Media outlets, as well as fans in attendance, have since blasted the rapper's use of realistic gunshot sounds used during his performance, calling it "disgraceful" and "irresponsible" considering the context of the growing number of U.S. mass shootings — and more specifically the mass slaying of 59 people during a country music festival in Las Vegas last October, where a gunman massacred attendees at the Route 91 Harvest festival from his hotel window.
On Sunday night, Eminem's manager Paul Rosenberg took to Instagram to inform that Eminem does not use gunshot sound effects, and what the audience heard was a "pyrotechnic concussion which creates a loud boom."
Rosenberg went on to say, "He has used this effect — as have hundreds of other artists — in his live show for over 10 years, including previous U.S. festival dates in 2018 without complaint."
Many fans joined Rosenberg in their support, with one fan going as far as to suggest that people "Get a fucking grip" another calling those who feared for their lives that evening "pussies." Others have asked the rapper to not apologize.
Picture showing Eminem being scared of the sound effects on his own show pic.twitter.com/3Se6Mm6JIE
— Al Veronica / 29 Days (@Embackforeveng3) June 10, 2018
In March, Eminem made headlines after he altered the verse of "Nowhere Fast" during a performance at the iHeartRadio Music Awards to take aim at the National Rifle Association:
"This whole country is going nuts/ and the NRA is in our way/ they're responsible for this whole productions/ they hold the strings, they control the puppet/ And they threaten to take away donor bucks so they know the governmentwon't do nothing / and nobody's punching, gun owners clutching their loaded weapon/they love their guns more than our children."
You can watch the video of the alleged sound effect used at Bonnaroo below:
#EMINEM #Bonnaroo GUNSHOT pic.twitter.com/WgIeIH3Ipd
— EMINEM_TOUR_UPDATES (@Eminemreviv1) June 10, 2018
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