Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds, a vocal advocate for LGBT equality, has slammed Eminem for uttering a gay slur on his new album Kamikaze.
“It’s never ok to say a word that is filled with hate. I don’t care what year you were born in or what meaning it has to you,” he tweeted Friday. “If it contributes to hate and bigotry then it is hateful. period. there is never an ok time to say the word fa**ot. I don’t care who you are.”
Eminem’s track “Fall” includes a line directed at Tyler, the Creator: “I see why you called yourself a fa**ot, bitch.”
After being criticized on social media for being too sensitive, Reynolds responded on Sunday. He tweeted: “It’s disgusting to be told this is being ‘overly sensitive' or ‘millennial.’ LGBTQ kids are TAKING THEIR LIVES after being bullied with homophobic slurs. it’s not ‘sensitive’ to take a stand against a word that has been used to spread hate for years.”
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He added: “I’ve lived enough of my life remaining silent on these issues because of fear or lack of education. I don’t live in fear anymore. I still have lots to learn. but no. I will not be a silent voice with this platform I have been given.”
On Monday, Reynolds was back on Twitter to explain that he does not speak for the LGBT community. “If they want 2 reclaim the word for themselves that is their decision & their’s only. I was only speaking to someone of great influence thinking it’s ok for him to say it time after time for years. It’s not.”
Eminem is also taking heat from Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, who is listed as a co-writer of the track. On Twitter, he said the controversial lyric came in a session that he was not part of.
“Not a fan of the message, it’s tired,” Vernon admitted. “Asked them to change the track, wouldn’t do it.”
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He added: “Eminem is one of the best rappers of all time , there is no doubt. I have and will respect that. Tho, this is not the time to criticize Youth, it’s the time to listen. To act. It is certainly not the time for slurs. Wish they would have listened when we asked them to change it.”
Vernon later tweeted: “I was wrong and we are gonna kill this track.”
Last December, Eminem insisted he is not homophobic. “The honest-to-God truth is that none of that matters to me: I have no issue with someone’s sexuality, religion, race, none of that,” he told Vulture. “Anyone who’s followed my music knows I’m against bullies — that’s why I hate that f***ing bully Trump — and I hate the idea that a kid who’s gay might get s**t for it.”