Eminem called out for cultural appropriation over matador outfit in 2004's 'My Band' video
From his music releases to his steaming rivalries, Eminem has been a constant fodder for headlines for around two decades. This time, the globally renowned rapper is making headlines after he was called out for cultural appropriation over an old music video.
Netizens are pointing fingers at Eminem for his lyrics in 2004’s chart-busting track titled 'My Band'. His collaboration with D12 featured a section at the end of the song that has now been dubbed inappropriate.
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Donning a matador outfit, Eminem sang about how his "salsa makes all the pretty girls want to dance and get in their underpants". The 49-year-old rapper's old video came under scrutiny after Tyga was embroiled in a controversy soon after the release of his latest track 'Ay Caramba'.
In the music video of the track, Tyga was seen sporting an outfit that many said stereotyped Mexican culture.
The backlash Tyga received over the outfit made him publicly apologize to the Mexican community and fans. "I want to apologize to the Mexican community and my fans that are Mexican,” The rapper told LA Leakers and American Cholo podcast host Gil Tejada. He added, “I have a lot of Latin fans that are Puerto Rican or Dominican that probably weren’t offended by this video. But, my Mexican fans in LA, there was some that were offended.”
As soon as the controversy made headlines, some on the internet brought up Eminem’s 18-year-old song, pointing out how the rap legend escaped backlash over a similar act.
A social media user wrote, “He was in a Spanish matador costume w a group of ppl dressed in Mexican attire and sung about salsa 😭😭 culture appropriating all over the place”, while another one wrote, "How come there’s no outrage in the Latino community for Eminem doing this huh?"
A third said: "Invent the time machine and travel back and/or forth to whichever era and this s**t will STILL not be funny." Another added, "I wonder why these folks aren’t demanding an apology from Eminem."
he really was in a spanish matador costume w a group of ppl dressed in mexican attire and sung about salsa 😭😭 culture appropriating all over the place
— fruity corona (@pterodactylsman) August 1, 2022
When "My Band" comes on and you embarrassingly remember every word #mysalsa pic.twitter.com/nEnsdXMagX
— Abbye Portzen 🎶 (@abbYEgail) March 8, 2017
So it’s OK when he does it but when Tyga does it it’s a problem?
— PcPlaguee (@PcPlaguee) August 1, 2022
However, there were several comments from people claiming to be Hispanic, who said they didn't find a problem with Eminem portraying himself as Latino.
The music video which is being criticized by the netizens now went through every public censor smoothly and even got nominated for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, and Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.
