Back in the early 2000s, the world was completely different. Everyone loved their Motorola Razr flip phones, Blockbuster reigned supreme and skinny jeans were everywhere.
This was also the period that gave us the feud between Christina Aguilera and Eminem, which resulted in a variety of moments that have since gone viral—though it was far from the rapper’s only squabble.
It all started shortly after Aguilera released her debut album, Christina Aguilera, in 1999 and was riding off of the success of her number-one hit, “Genie in a Bottle.” While things started off well between the two artists, they quickly turned sour.
Eminem and Christina Aguilera at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City. Resurfaced clips revealing tension between the two in the 2000s have gone viral.
Now in resurfaced clips that have been posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, by the account @PopCulture2000s, people are talking about the beef all over again.
“The tension between Christina Aguilera and Eminem in the 2000s,” the account wrote in the caption of the video. At the time of writing, the post has been liked 127,000 times, with more than 10,000 retweets and over 14,000 saves.
At the beginning of the video, a clip is shown of Britney Spears and Aguilera introducing Whitney Houston at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. At one point, Spears mentioned Eminem, at which point Aguilera dismissed him by saying, “Anyway…” The rapper was part of the live audience that night and the camera swung to his shocked reaction.
The next clip showed the rapper winning an MTV VMA, and during his acceptance speech he said he planned to put it “right between my Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera poster.”
Two years later, Aguilera was presenting the award to the winner of best male video. When she read the card, she said, “Interesting,” before awarding it to Eminem for “Without Me.” The tension was palpable as Eminem walked onstage to receive the award.
Users on X seemed to appreciate the video.
“I really missed those days,” one poster wrote. “Award shows aren’t the same anymore,” wrote another.
The feud between the pair dates back to 2000 after Aguilera appeared on the MTV special What a Girl Wants and commented on Eminem’s personal life. The singer claimed that Eminem had secretly married Kim Scott and went on to say that some of his lyrics relating to violence were referencing her.
Eminem had indeed wed his on-again-off-again girlfriend in 1999 and many of his most controversial songs are about her, including the track “97 Bonnie & Clyde.” During this song, he raps about killing Scott and getting their young daughter, Hailie Jade, to assist him in disposing of her body.
While some of the things Aguilera said were true, Eminem said he didn’t approve of her talking about him and his family. Not only did he speak out against her in interviews, but he also referenced her in a variety of his tracks.
“The Real Slim Shady” was released three months after Aguilera’s documentary aired and in the song he makes derogatory comments about her before accusing her of giving him a sexually transmitted disease. He made further jibes, some with violent lyrics, in subsequent songs.
Neither of the artists has spoken about the other publicly in the past couple of years. However, in 2018, Eminem was still rapping about Aguilera. The following year she confessed that she was baffled by him continuing to name-drop her after almost two decades. During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live, Aguilera said: “That’s really in the past”
Newsweek has reached out to representatives for Eminem and Aguilera for comment.
Billie is a Newsweek Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. Her focus is reporting on film and TV, trending news and the entertainment industry. She has extensively covered pop culture, women’s rights and lifestyle topics throughout her career. Originally from Sydney, Billie cut her teeth as a Femail reporter for Daily Mail Australia before moving to London in 2019. She joined Newsweek in 2023 from the Mirror and has previously written for Metro.co.uk, Daily Star, Popsugar, Fabulous and Insider. Languages: English.
