Aging rapper Eminem, aka Marshall Mathers, has a new target of disdain: the National Rifle Association.
The entertainer who served two years probation for carrying a concealed weapon — and who settled a civil lawsuit out of court after he was accused of pistol-whipping a man in June 2000 — says the NRA is responsible for U.S. violence.
“This whole country is going nuts, and the NRA is our way,” Eminem rapped Sunday at the iHeartRadio performance in Inglewood, California. “They’re responsible for this whole production. They hold the strings. They control the puppet, and they threaten to take donor bucks. So they know the government won’t do nothing and no one’s budging. Gun owners clutching their loaded weapons. They love their guns more than our children.”
Mr. Mathers’ social commentary comes against a cultural backdrop of entertainers and activists who blame the gun-rights organization for mass shootings.
The 45-year-old has also criticized President Trump on multiple occasions, including an extended rant at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards.
“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, and if you can’t decide who you like more and you’re split on who you should stand beside, I’ll do it for it for you with this. F— you,” he rapped for “The Storm” in October 2017.
Mr. Trump has not responded to the entertainer’s commentary.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.