Controversial hip hop superstar Eminem is being rescued by legend Sir Elton John — again. This time it’s for sobriety.
At the beginning of the last decade (2001), Elton John agreed to perform with Eminem on the Grammys despite the fact that Eminem had espoused extremely inflammatory homophobic language in his interviews and lyrics. Elton John long ago pronounced his homosexuality publicly, but his decision to appear onstage with the talented, but tortured rapper provided Eminem with the international credibility he hadn’t possessed previously.
Today, the iconic British rocker is helping Marshall Mathers, better known as Eminem, again — this time for a much more serious matter — drug addiction.
Sir Elton, as he is affectionately called, in his native land, told BBC Radio 5 in the United Kingdom on Saturday he is successfully counseling Slim Shady, (another pseudonym of Marshall Mathers) through his “devastating” and extremely debilitating drug addiction.
“I’ve been helping Eminem over the last 18 months and he’s doing brilliantly,” Elton says, according the British Press Association.
Elton has never been shy about admitting and recounting the murky details of his own drug and alcohol addictions over the years. He’s been reportedly clean since the 1980s, which not coincidentally, corresponded with the height of his creative powers and popularity.
Now he is there for Enimem. Last May, Eminem revealed to Vibe that he has been embattled with a “devastating” drug addiction that resulted in the record-breaking platinum rapper taking as many as 20 Vicodin, Ambien and Valium in a day.
As a recovering addict, John, 62, has also been offering counseling to whomever asks him. He once offered addiction counseling to the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson. “I’m there if people want my help. If people ask for help, you tell them where to go but there’s no point advising people if they don’t want to do it.”
Eminem, 37, realized that he needed additional mentoring from someone with their own experience with drug addiction. The Detroit-based rapper, who is the bestselling artist of the past decade, said he nearly overdosed following his 2005 induction into drug rehab when he took a mysterious blue pill that turned out to be methadone.
–terry shropshire
