29 Jun: Eminem vs His Mom
Marshall Mathers III, aka Eminem, was sued for defamation by his own mother, Debbie, on 29th June, 2000. The suit was primarily in response to a lyric, “My Mom does more dope than I do”, from his hit song ‘My Name Is’.
However, the case never made it to court. Eminem settled for $25,000 – almost of all of which went to Debbie’s lawyer, who then commented that the cash was not enough to compensate for having to deal with his client…
In this episode, Rebecca, Arion and Olly consider Eminem’s use of the Slim Shady ‘character’ in his lyrics, explain how tough it is to prove a defamation lawsuit against a piece of art; and revisit the work of Australian drag artiste ‘Pauline Pantsdown’.
Further Reading: