Eminem has given a rare insight into his life during an awards show speech, where he made a revelation about a drug overdose.
Eminem has dropped a concerning revelation during an awards show speech, referencing his infamous drug overdose in 2007.
The US rapper was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on Saturday night. And during his speech, he asked daughter Hailie Jade Mathers to block her ears while talking about his past addiction struggles, New York Post reports.
Alaina Scott, Hailie Jade Mathers and Stevie Laine were all raised by the rapper, yet their identities have remained mysterious.
“I realise what an honour it is right now to be here up here tonight, and what a privilege it is to do the music that I love,” the Lose Yourself rapper, 50, began his acceptance speech.
“Music basically saved my life … I’ll keep this as painless as possible. I’m f***ing stuttering and sh*t. I’m probably not supposed to actually be here tonight because of a couple of reasons.”
Eminem speaking during the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Born Marshall Mathers, the star was inducted by his longtime collaborator Dr Dre at the 2022 ceremony held in Los Angeles.
“I almost died from an overdose in 2007, which kind of sucked,” he said, before addressing his 26-year-old daughter, who he shares with ex Kim Scott.
“Hailie, plug your ears. Because drugs were f***ing delicious. I thought we had a good thing going on, but I had to go and f**k it all up. Goddamn.”
The camera then panned to his daughter, who pursed her lips and shook her head.
“And finally, I had to really fight my way through man, to try and break through in this music, and I’m so honoured and I’m so grateful that I’m even able to be up here doing hip-hop music, man, because I love it so much.”
His 26-year-old daughter Hailie Jade Mathers was in the crowd. Picture: Instagram
Eminem hasn’t been shy about discussing his addiction to Vicodin, Valium, Ambien and methadone, which began while filming the semi-autobiographical 2002 film 8 Mile.
“We were doing 16 hours on the set and you had a certain window where you had to sleep. One day somebody gave me an Ambien, and it knocked me the f**k out. I was like, ‘I need this all the time,’” he told Rolling Stone in 2011.
By 2005, he was “f***ed up every night” on tour.
He later told The New York Times: “I used to get pills wherever I could. I was just taking anything that anybody was giving me.”
At the time of his 2007 overdose, he weighed 104kg.
“When I got out of rehab, I needed to lose weight, but I also needed to figure out a way to function sober,” he told Men’s Journal.
“Unless I was blitzed out of my mind, I had trouble sleeping. So I started running. It gave me a natural endorphin high, but it also helped me sleep, so it was perfect. It’s easy to understand how people replace addiction with exercise.”
