Link to roast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LunHybOKIjU
Eminem recently released freestyle that expressed his ideas regarding President Donald Trump's presidency and policies. He called out Trump for intentionally and inappropriately "causing a Twitter storm" and "[supporting] the Klansman." Many famous celebrities have utilized Twitter to react to this video, mostly in a positive manner. However, one especially famous celebrity who regularly uses Twitter to express his own feelings and beliefs, Trump himself, has yet to respond to this roast.
I personally believe that Eminem did a great job in conveying his emotions and letting the people know what kind of person Donald Trump is in his eyes. However, I know that people all over the world are also probably disgusted by these actions. They may claim this inappropriately takes advantage of free speech and is direct treason to the government, or they may claim that Trump simply is not the guy Eminem is talking about and should not be the person that takes the blame for these sentiments.
What do you think about this video? How would Donald Trump react to this? Is Eminem abusing his right to free speech, or is he rightfully expressing how he feels?
12 comments:
I believe that it is great that we see an artist who is larger than life, take something he is known for, to protest against something he disagrees with. His status gives the one who aren't able to express their emotions a chance to have their voices heard. It is no surprise if Trump declares Eminem's acts as treason.
First of all, I think that Eminem might be the most talented rapper ever, and I'm definitely a long time fan. I also think this freestyle was pretty creative, even though I don't agree with a lot of what Eminem said. I don't think the rap was completely accurate, and I also don't think that the political opinions of Eminem should be considered completely respectable. Still, it is his right to say what he wants, and if his fans are enjoying it, he shouldn't hold back.
Ever since Trump's inauguration, there has been a bevy of negative sentiment directed towards Trump from the rap community. YG and Nipsey Hussle dropped "FDT," which I'm sure you guys can figure out what the acronym stands for. Kendrick Lamar called him a "chump" in "The Heart Part 4." Even Snoop Dogg had some stuff to say- he held a toy gun up to a Trump lookalike and caused a bunch of controversy on Twitter. But why weren't these stories so prominent and well known? It is sad to say, but black heavyweight rappers like Kanye or Hova would not have had yielded the same reaction as Eminem did if they were on the track. Besides Eminem's fame, one other reason why his message is so wide-reaching is that he is white. Em raps about how white people, like Trump, are able to get away with stuff black people couldn't. Em understands the power of his own skin color and uses this same effect to speak out for those minorities who don't have a voice as big as Em's or white people's.
People thought this was a freestyle, and initially, I did too, but after some thought on slander, I came to the conclusion that this diss track had some prewritten elements. If you've ever listened to Em, you know his words are rife with anger and passion, and he really doesn't care what he says. As a result, I have no doubt that, before he dropped this diss, he sat with his lawyers discussing what he could and could not say. Em had to be really smart about what he could legally say for a broadcast, especially because he was going after the freaking President. All in all, dope diss track.
Eminem is in no way misusing his right to free speech. As a rapper, creating music and putting it out to the world is his outlet. While some of the things he said could be offensive to others, it's his right to express his feelings. He never threatened anyone or went against what this country stands for. He simply listed off things that he believes Trump should be criticized for. Eminem is also not the only celebrity that been against Trump and his policies. Celebrities like Scarlett Johanson, Stephen Curry, LeBron James, Meryl Streep, and George Clooney have all expressed their opinions. While they do receive backlash they arent accused of treason and misusing their right to free speech. I think people are overreacting about this and if it really offends them that much then they simply don't have to listen to it.
I agree with Josh, in that Eminem has more pull because of his race, and that this is reminiscent of the 1960s during the Civil Rights Movement, where the voice of the African American community was largely silenced because of their race. Ultimately, Eminem is leveraging his race to speak for those who can't be heard.
I actually came across this video on my social media several times but did not watch it until this morning. While there are many who publicly express their anger and frustration towards Trump, it is mostly POC’s who use large platforms to convey their political views. Coming from a white male artist, I found it admirable that Eminem had to bravery to speak out against current injustices, even though they may not directly apply to him. I have been recently been seeing a lot of people argue that Donald Trump has not called out Eminem because he is the “wrong color”, in other words, because he is white, he is not a target Trump is aiming against. I feel as though, if Trump were or is to call out Eminem he will be more lenient and just as he defended the violent white supremacists at Charlottesville, he will be more easy on Eminem because he is caucasian. I don’t think Eminem is in any way abusing his right to free speech, but rather he is rightfully using his platform not simply to convey his political views, but to explain WHY “politics” are no longer just “politics” when minority groups are continuously being targeted by the man sitting at the white house. Ultimately, I find Eminem's actions incredibly courageous and he earned my respect.
I agree with everyone that Donald Trump have done or expressed a lot of offensive things that made people feel uncomfortable (racism, the wall, travel ban, and etc.), and that Eminem has the right to express his views on these current events. However, near the end of his freestyle, he stated "And any fan of mine who's a supporter of his I'm drawing in the sand a line: you're either for or against... I'll do it for you with this: F you!," which in my opinion, might not be a good message. Trump is already causing a lot of hatred in our country, and now we have all these artists creating a division where you're either for or against, leaving no middle ground in between. I think it's great that Eminem is using his music to point out what Trump has done to our country so far, but it doesn't really do any good to add fuel to the fire.
I believe that Eminem is using his freedom of speech correctly and is not abusing it. I find it great how he recognizes how much power and influence he holds and is willing to use it. Even though some see this as offensive, he is still justified due to his first amendment. I admire Eminem's freestyle and think what he is doing is really good; it is not often that a very popular rapper talks about politics. I also agree with how other's have mentioned that Eminem's freestyle is so far reaching because he is white and is not being targeted by Trump.
It was a very ballsy move for Eminem and it undoubtedly took alot of confidence. I would assume that a major reason why most rappers do not talk politics is that it would alienate alot of their fanbase. I admire that Eminem uses his preexisting platform as a means to spread his opinion on the perceived unfairness of Trump's current presidency. Eminem has, from the start, made controversial remarks (although not necessarily political), and has always been very dogmatic. This extends to this rap and although some may find it offensive, it is important to always introduce different opinions. This is an important part of free speech and although I agree that it does possibly add to the fire, it is best to voice protest instead of hiding it. Trump, although he may not agree with these statements, should not be childish enough to retaliate.
I don't think it is hate speech that Eminem made a song discussing his political views. Like others have stated in the comments, there have been many other rappers sharing their political views. I think Trump has not stated anything about the musical video, like Alexa said, because Eminem is white. If it was any other race, Trump would be more likely to take twitter and express his emotions about what was said. For example, Trump had no issue talking about Stephen Curry on twitter, just because Curry did not want to go to the white house. Either way, Trump has used his social media to share his views on many things, a lot of times offending minorities or women. I think Trump has no right to come at anyone who expresses his views on him because lots of those times, Trump has attacked them first, whether it was specific or general.
I believe that Eminem that justified in making this song. It doesn't qualify as hate speech, because he is just using his platform to start a conversation. Donald Trump has done the same thing by using Twitter to speak out about things he disagrees with. I can understand why people disagree with Eminem's song or his opinions about our current President, but it is his freedom of speech to do so. In addition, other artists like Macklemore have made songs about the last election, so Eminem shouldn't be reprimanded for similar action.
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