Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has hit out at Eminem for an “unnecessarily hurtful and deeply disrespectful” lyric about the 2017 bomb attack in the city.
In a song on his new album, the US star raps: “I’m contemplating yelling ‘bombs away’ on the game; Like I’m outside of an Ariana Grande concert waiting“. He follows that line with the sound of an explosion.
Twenty-two people died when a suicide bomber attacked a crowd after Grande’s gig at Manchester Arena in May 2017.
The lines feature in the song Unaccommodating, in which the star boasts about his impact on hip-hop. It appears on his album Music To Be Murdered By, which he released on Friday.
The backlash
In a statement to BBC News, the Mayor of Manchester said: “Eminem is being unnecessarily hurtful and deeply disrespectful to the families and all those affected.”
Figen Murray, whose son Martyn Hett died in the attack, also voiced her disapproval after friends informed her of the two songs on Friday morning.
“Feels like he is piggybacking on the fame of Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber and says distasteful things about other celebrities,” she wrote on Twitter.
“Not clever. Totally pointless. And before all Eminem fans pounce on me, I do not care and will not engage.”
Murray has campaigned for the introduction of Martyn’s Law, which would require venues to introduce more stringent security checks.
Hett’s former partner Russell Hayward also voiced his disapproval of Eminem’s latest lyrics, writing:
“It’s disappointing but not surprising that #Eminem would use controversial lyrics about the Manchester bomb; dragging the victims’ families & Ariana back into a very dark time.
“Not sure how popular he is these days but I hope any success he gets from the back of this is worth it.”
His comments were echoed by Grande’s fans, who described Unaccommodating as “a pathetic attempt to get attention”.
One fan tweeted the rapper saying: “You’re so disgusting I hope u know that. What u said was very uncalled for and so hurtful to so many people.”
Eminem previously pledged his support to victims of the bombing in 2017. Also, he urged fans to donate money to families who the bombing had affected.
Repeat offender
This is not the first time the 47-year-old has referenced the attack in song.
In a 2018 freestyle, he rapped about a brainwashed suicide bomber; “seeing Ariana Grande sing her last song of the evening. And as the audience from the damn concert is leaving; detonates the device strapped to his abdominal region.”
Unaccommodating is the opening track on the star’s 11th album, which he released, unannounced, on Friday morning.
The 20-track album, a follow-up to 2018’s Kamikaze, features cameos from Q-Tip, Ed Sheeran, and the late Juice Wrld.