John Waters Says Eminem Is ‘Not Homophobic,’ Cites Elton John Wedding Gift

Eminem is once again being defended on the issue of homophobic lyrics, this time by filmmaker John Waters.

Waters made the comments on the Las Culturistas podcast with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang on Wednesday, May 13, while discussing the unusual wedding gift Eminem once gave Elton John and David Furnish.

“He’s not homophobic,” Waters, who has openly spoken about his sexuality, said of Eminem. “He gave Elton John and David Furnish matching gold c–k rings for their wedding.”

Eminem’s relationship with Elton John dates back to their performance of “Stan” at the 2001 Grammy Awards. John has also previously spoken about the gift in 2019, telling The Guardian that the rings were displayed “like the crown jewels” in a box on satin cushions. “They’re wonderful to look at,” he said. “They’re kind of sacrosanct. The fact they came from Eminem makes it even better.”

In 2004, Eminem told MTV that he did not know John was gay when they first met, adding, “I didn’t know anything about his personal life. I didn’t really care,” and saying John’s support made “a statement in itself.”

The Detroit rapper has long drawn a line between his personal views and the Slim Shady character he uses in his music. In 2013, after criticism over “Rap God,” he told Rolling Stone, “I’ve been doing this s–t for, what, 14 years now? And I think people know my personal stance on things and the personas that I create in my music.”

But the line has not always been easy to hold. In 2018, Eminem said he regretted using a homophobic slur while dissing Tyler, The Creator on Kamikaze‘s “The Fall.” In an interview on YouTube., he said, “Because in my quest to hurt him, I realized that I was hurting a lot of other people by saying it. It was one of the things that I kept going back to and going, ‘I don’t feel right with this.’”