Eminem's walkout at MTV Movie Awards: Staged?
Yep, it sure seems obvious that Eminem's tempestuous reaction to his face being attacked by Sacha Baron Cohen's butt at the MTV Movie Awards was orchestrated.
As a winged, nearly naked Cohen crashed to earth like Icarus, he had to land on someone if the stunt was to have comedic effect. For max funniness, that person should have max rebellious 'tude. That's Eminem in that crowd last night. It can't be a coincidence that the two forces met and cameras were poised to catch it perfectly on TV.
Furthermore, it seemed like Eminem was wearing a live microphone so we could hear a censor bleep out part of his scream as Cohen's cheeks rubbed against Eminem's: "Are you serious? Get the … off me!"
And can it be another coincidence that a camera just so happened to be positioned in the aisle to catch sight of Eminem stomping out?
Prior to the awards show, producer Mark Burnett hinted to Hollyscoop.com about the rapper's appearance at the event: "Eminem — It's epic tonight! It's epic!" Since Eminem's music performance clearly wasn't so epic, Burnett had to be referring to something else.
None of the above is shocking, of course, but what is: Why did Eminem play along? The stunt only fuels old fears that he's a secret homophobe. The rapper has lots of gay fans. It's foolish to alienate them three weeks after releasing a new CD, "Relapse."
Eminem got in enough trouble when his "The Marshall Mathers LP" came out in 2000, with lyrics in the song "Criminal" proclaiming "hate" for gays. Such gay-bashing resulted in the rapper taking a beating from outraged observers. Elton John came to his rescue by performing "Stan" with Eminem at the Grammys, then giving him a big bear hug that Eminem appeared to suffer reluctantly. Afterward, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation wasn't placated, issuing this statement: "GLAAD is appalled that John would share a stage with Eminem, whose words and actions promote hate and violence against gays and lesbians."
It's possible that Eminem didn't think through the implications of the stunt with Sacha Baron Cohen when MTV producers pitched it to him. It may not have occurred to him that it would look like he's disgusted by being touched so intimately by an effusively gay character. Eminem, let's face it, doesn't have very good gaydar. He may have thought that viewers would perceive him merely being repulsed by being the butt, literally, of a stupid stunt by a crazy guy dangling from the ceiling as he's pushing his upcoming film "Bruno."
Now how will Eminem deal with new accusations that he's being unmasked again as a homophobe? One option: 'fess up that it was all a joke, but MTV has a history of not admitting its stunts.
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Photo: MTV
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I think your all a lil right....re watch the video...first off when Bruno landed in em's lap the camera man ran up the stairs that is very clear......second the sound comming from em was muffled showing that it ws Brunos mic that picked up his voice.....third of course bruno dropping into ems lap was staged DUH! Fourth the look on em's face was toooo classic to be fake! In part I think it was staged but not to the extent of what happend. Fifth those were not his 400lb body guards they were D12....ya know part of his group! Oh and for the record I am not a Eminem fan. I think you all need to relax and remember the truth will come out soon enough....if it was all staged you prob wont hear anymore about it. If it wasnt then Eminem will surly either sue or write a song about it!
Posted by: Theresa | June 05, 2009 at 03:32 AM
Yeah,right. It was all staged. To promote his tough guy album, next week Em will be filmed at an awards show with 9 hotdogs sticking out of his mouth.
Posted by: sst | June 03, 2009 at 08:17 PM
LOL, i didnt even know this happend. I thought he walked out because of some other reason. If that happend to me I wouldve smashed his special part right there. and then made him suffer but still stayed on the show and laugh it off!
Posted by: Indy | June 03, 2009 at 02:36 PM
This was posted by someone earlier
"Once again Cohen as exposed the hypocracy of our celebrity obsessed culture in the funniest way possible. Briliant!"
Actually once again MTV, and Eminem, and Cohen have exploited the idiocy of MTV viewers and exposed just how many suckers there are in this country. I'm going to be honest I am very scared right now. There are so many morons in this nation that it scares the living crap outta me. I thought "reality" TV was bad, but now we got millions of people who actually believe this obvious hoax.
Posted by: man1985 | June 02, 2009 at 02:34 AM
Vickie, uh, let me assure we're just as tired of you. I can also put your mind at ease when I say I do not want to lick my lips at you, ogle you or anything else. So relax. We don't want you.
Second, Eminem obviously knew. We just know how much he knew. It's possible he knew Bruno'd be in his lap, but not in that position. And even if it wasn't staged, who cares? This is a guy who has made a name for himself by hating women, his own mother, gays, etc. Doesn't he sing a song about killing a woman and putting her in his trunk? Oh, was he offended? Well, boo hoo.
Third, this has nothing to do with gay people. You paying attention, Vickie? Neither Eminem or SBC are gay. You Eminem fans sure don't disappoint. You've gone above and beyond with the whining and overreaction to a silly planned stunt on MTV.
Posted by: Matthew | June 01, 2009 at 09:32 PM
I have to admit though, the skit was pretty darn hilarious! I burst out laughing when i see the pictures! LMAO!
Posted by: Janett | June 01, 2009 at 09:29 PM
Are you kidding me? Eminem is not anti-gay, he had a butt crack on his face and he was 1/2 an inch away from his privates, what are you talking about? Gees, talk about starting something up that's not there! His songs may be aggressive, but its my choice to listen to them and your choice not to.
Posted by: Janett | June 01, 2009 at 09:27 PM
tom your an idiot. obviously people are homophobes if they dont want someones balls in their face. hell i bet u were sucking a big D when u wrote this article
Posted by: sean | June 01, 2009 at 09:27 PM
My Guess: Em was in on a stunt where Bruno would land on him , but perhaps Sasha or MTV or both left out the DETAILS; That he would be ass naked in his face, legs over his head. While I completely disagree that Em storming out makes him come off as homophobic in any way (this could embarrass and gross out Richard Simmons for the love of god), it did make him look kind of WIMPY , not something I think he would agree to. Look at the still photo accompanying this article; you think that's an image the worlds most famous and credible white gangsta rapper would agree to have captured for eternity? Makes no sense at all.
Posted by: Emit Time | June 01, 2009 at 09:14 PM
If it wasn't a hoax, then all the people that think that he can't take a joke after all he dishes out haven't considered other powers at work.
It's possible that if he were humiliated like this it would be a payback from Hollywood 'royalty' because THEY can't take a joke. It makes people feel even sorrier for the personas he ridicules, and make him look bad.
Posted by: ATX | June 01, 2009 at 07:12 PM
it was staged, but on the other hand why is it homophobic to be repulsed by having a man's naked ass 2 inches away from your face? sounds normal to me.
Posted by: dsc | June 01, 2009 at 07:06 PM
Anyone who feels the need to show up at a celebrity event with a bunch of 400 pound body guards is clearly an easy target for this kind of a stunt!
Eminem has shown that he has no sense of humour whatsoever, he is like a pubescent adolescent. Grow up and learn to laugh at yourself.
Once again Cohen as exposed the hypocracy of our celebrity obsessed culture in the funniest way possible. Briliant!
Posted by: Tony | June 01, 2009 at 07:01 PM
Haha - "defimation" ? First of all, it's defamation. Second of all the cause of action for defamation is regarding a spoken statement, not having some guy drop into your lap. I'm assuming it's staged because otherwise it's a pretty obvious battery case if Eminem wanted to be petty.
Posted by: Elle | June 01, 2009 at 06:36 PM
i have always enjoyed the mtv movie awards.... this years seemed for over the top fake and stupid, alot of the "skits" was not even remotely funny.... personally was disappointed, and glad that i didn't teens watching the language and stupidty. I love seeing the celebrities act crazy, or being themselves... just seemed to be over the top to much to actually enjoy :( dont even get me started on all the unnecessary cussing.... some may call me "old fashion" but you can have great entertainment without all the unnecessary :)
Posted by: babykaye77 | June 01, 2009 at 06:12 PM
Wouldn't any one of you straight boys be a little weirded out with another guys butt and balls in your face? give him a break.. but i do think it was staged because the camera flashed to em right before the incident
Posted by: Me | June 01, 2009 at 05:08 PM
i think it was funny as hell. this dude can sit there and poke fun at every artist in the industry and when they poke fun at him he storms off in full FIT mode. lol i thought it was pure comedy. and if he was in on it then good for him. and if not then also good for him.
Posted by: justdeserts | June 01, 2009 at 05:03 PM
I don't think Em was in on this one...doesn't seem like he'd be up for a "joke" like this. I also don't see how it refuels the homophobe rumors. I'm pretty sure that ANYONE would be pissed if they were on the receiving end of a stunt like that, whether the person (or character) doing it was gay or straight.
Posted by: kelz | June 01, 2009 at 04:29 PM
If this was staged and Eminem didn't know, I hope he sues the pants off that company. defimation of character...period
Posted by: boss | June 01, 2009 at 04:15 PM
Seriously, no one would stage that, period. But for mtv to set that up and knowingly drop that asshole on EM's lap is some bullshit. Keep with the pranks and weak shows and see how your station does in the future. I would start respecting musicians....because you just lost a big handful...guarenteed. The artists no longer need MTV!!!
Posted by: Salty | June 01, 2009 at 03:49 PM
I completely agree; there's no way MTV would piss off their darling Eminem with that stunt without getting his approval. They said, YOU'LL GET HEADLINES FOR YOUR NEW ALBUM and he said, OKAY GREAT. The end.
Posted by: Nicole | June 01, 2009 at 03:39 PM
Mr. Tom O'Neil, you seem a little dense and apparently incredibly magnanimous. It was an assigned seat and Cohen's microphone. That doesn't seem too hard to figure out. Eminem wasn't in on it; but his seat certainly was picked out (and rehearsed) in advance.
I say you're magnanimous because apparently if anyone stuck their ass/balls in your face, you'd be fine with it. Eminem, however, has to be a homophobe if he doesn't like it.
I certainly wouldn't be happy if someone stuck their junk in my face like that and trapped me there to boot. Heck, I don't even like it when cats do it, and that's just what they do and to be expected. Just 'cause I flinch when they do doesn't mean I hate cats.
Tom O'Neil: Sack-loving saint. Eminem: I don't like him, but I feel this went too far. No one wants someone else's ass in their face like that. Yuk.
Posted by: Tina | June 01, 2009 at 03:11 PM
This was obviously staged, people at the show have been reported saying that Em was laughing with his D12 crew as he was walking out.
As for being homophobe? I don't buy it. No one in their right mind would enjoy someone's naked butthole in their face, it doesn't matter if the butt belongs to someone who is gay or not.
It was all for entertainment, why make it into something deeper than it really was?
Posted by: Jen | June 01, 2009 at 03:05 PM
Man, the gay and laesbian group Glaad or whatever is all over his ass for the new album. They hate him. I think it was a big gay conspiracy against him. I do. Gays are out to gett him. Ali G is a gay. You cant pretend to be a gay forever kissing dudes like that and not be gay. Homo!! I would have kneed him in the eye socket.
Posted by: killercodes | June 01, 2009 at 02:55 PM
Obviously the cameras rome the hall, so it probably wouldn't be odd for M or any other star to see the camera in the isle. I don't think Eminem knew. Maybe he knew something was gunna "happen", but his shock seemed real.
Posted by: Wayne Scott II | June 01, 2009 at 02:55 PM
It was recently stated that Eminem reached out to Elton John for help dealing with his Xanax addiction. I highly doubt it was a homophobic hit. He has said to have a pretty good relationship with Elton John. I believe more than anything that this was a publicity stunt for both Bruno and Eminem. Eminem's album sales are not exactly killing it right now. And Bruno movie hasn't come out yet. You ask me it was a good way to drum up web traffic and sales.
Posted by: Jason | June 01, 2009 at 02:54 PM