It's been almost 17 years since Elton John teamed up with Eminem at the 2001 Grammy Awards to perform the Detroit spitter's megahit "Stan." The collaboration caused a worldwide buzz, with plenty of people wondering why the openly gay British singer would agree to take the stage with a rapper who had penned a boatload of lyrics seen as virulently homophobic.
Sir Elton John was never onboard with the popular consensus that Eminem was anti-gay, however, and recently spoke with his longtime friend for Interview magazine.
After asking Em about his upcoming album, John recalled when the two first encountered each other.
"You’re very good on collaborations. We first met through the Grammys, when you asked me to do 'Stan.' It was an amazing event for me that I’ll never forget," the 70-year-old musician told Eminem.
"I’ll never forget it either—and I was on drugs," replied Shady. "I was for sure on drugs when we met."
After claiming he didn't notice, Sir Elton said the chatter about the rapper being homophobic was hogwash.
"I couldn’t tell. I was just mesmerized by you and your performance; it made the hairs on the back of my arms stand up ... And when that s**t was thrown at you—about you being homophobic—I just thought, 'I’m not standing for this. It’s nonsense.' I had to stand up and defend you. That Grammy performance was the start of a lovely friendship and I’m grateful for that," said John.
"Likewise. That was a crazy time for me. I don’t know if I was actually on drugs when we met, but that was right around the start of my using," replied Em, adding that he's been clean for nine years.
Source: interviewmagazine.com
