Rapper Eminem has long been accused of being a homophobic and in the past some of his lyrics have, reportedly, upset members of the LGBT community. In an interview last year with Rolling Stone, Eminem explained his controversial lyrics by saying that he doesn't equate words like "f***t" to mean homosexual.
"It was more like calling someone a b**h or a punk or an asshole," he said.
Well, now the rapper has another explanation for why he tends to throw around gay slurs in his music: because he's a "homosexual." On Christmas Day, moviegoers flocked to theaters to watch the controversial comedy "The Interview" and several A-listers made cameo appearances including Eminem.
In a scene from the film, which has since gone viral, Eminem is being interviewed by James Franco's character when he casually admits that he's gay. Of course, the rapper is joking but that hasn't stopped people from buzzing about the clip.
"When I say things about gay people, or people think my lyrics are homophobic - it's because I'm gay," Eminem says in the film. "I'm more shocked that people haven't figured it out yet. I mean, it's kind of like I've been playing gay peek-a-boo."
Franco, clearly stunned by the rapper's confession, asks Eminem to repeat what his just said.
"Em, let's just back it up a moment," Franco's character says looking confused. "You just said that... you were gay. I'm just curious what you meant by that exactly."
Eminem then repeats his confession. "The Interview" has been plagued with controversy the past few weeks. The movie, which stars Franco and Seth Rogen, was almost not released after Sony hackers threatened a 9/11-style attack on movie theaters that showed the film.
The comedy involves a plot to kill, Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea. Following the threat, Sony execs pulled the plug on the movie but eventually decided to release it in select theaters on Christmas Day.
"We have never given up on releasing 'The Interview' and we're excited our movie will be in a numbers of theaters on Christmas," said Michael Lynton, chief executive of Sony Entertainment in a statement. "We are continuing our efforts to secure more platforms and more theaters so this movie reaches the largest possible audience."
