The more things change, the more they stay the same, which is why it’s 2024 and the internet is once again engaging in conversations about the content of Eminem’s songs.


Specifically, people pointed out that some of the lyrics from his latest song “Houdini” might be in poor taste, particularly the lines: “If I was to ask for Megan Thee Stallion if she would collab with me / Would I really have a shot at a feat?,” a reference to Megan Thee Stallion being shot in the foot by Tory Lanez, who has since been convicted and imprisoned for first-degree assault with a firearm.



In reality, much of the conversation consists of pre-emptive attempts to defend Eminem. Most people, particularly Megan fans who skew younger, just aren’t checking for Eminem in 2024 and aren’t particularly invested in the content of his songs. But this hasn’t stopped Eminem fans from crying about how “Gen Z is trying to cancel Eminem,” a refrain we’ve been hearing for a few years now, and one that Eminem even incorporated into his 2023 track “Realest” with Ez Mil.


One of Eminem’s most famous defenders is an older millennial TikToker who composed her own rap in Eminem’s defense, singing, “Listen little kiddies let me make this quite clear / This man was around even before you were here.” Her 2021 video went viral for being a perfect example of millennial cringe, and two years later, Eminem made the exact same argument in “Realest” when he sang, “Gen Zers actin' like rap experts zip up your gaps and close your mouths / Bitch you ain’t been on this planet long enough to tell me how rap’s supposed to sound.”



The similarity between their arguments — that Gen Z is too young to know good rap when it’s staring them in the face — led at least one Twitter user to joke that Eminem “stole it bar for bar” from Cassie “The Weirdo” on TikTok.


It’s probably time for millennials to accept that Eminem just doesn’t carry the same weight or have the same cultural cache with younger audiences as he does with people who grew up during his heyday, and that’s fine — it’s natural! That lack of interest doesn’t mean anyone is trying to “cancel” Eminem, though, and unless you’re being paid to do so, spending time calling out 20-year-olds online in his defense is, indeed, peak cringe.