Topics: Eminem, Mental Health, Music, Celebrity, Drugs, Documentaries
Warning: This article contains discussion of substance abuse which some readers may find distressing.
Eminem has candidly revealed he almost died from an overdose and how the heartbreaking moment he woke up changed his life.
It's public knowledge that Slim Shady laughs in the face of controversy, landing in hot water for some of his bars over the course of his almost-40-year career.
From taking drugs and driving under the influence to allegedly making derogatory comments about women, the LGBTQ+ community, and a hefty list of famous people, the Missouri-born rapper has left no stone left unturned when he raps about his real life experiences, as well as some sadistic fantasist ones, mixed with his tongue-in-cheek opinions.
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However, in a new documentary STANS, the 52-year-old has revealed he's changed enormously from the Marshall Mathers that dropped The Slim Shady LP in 1999.
The father-of-three said he's been sober for more than 17 years, which all started when he suffered a near-fatal overdose.
The 'Lose Yourself' hitmaker said he was embroiled in a 'vicious cycle' of feeling 'depressed' and needing 'more pills' back in 2007 when one day, he happened to wake up in hospital.
"I didn’t how what the f*** happened. It seemed like I fell asleep, and I woke up with tubes in me and s***," he said in the documentary as per PEOPLE. "I wanted to get up. I couldn't move.
"After the overdose, I came home going, 'Yo, bro, I need something... I'm going to die if I don't do something'," he added.
Shortly after going into recovery, Eminem put pen to paper and gave us his 2009 album Relapse in the process, and although he admits the reception from fans for the record was 'lukewarm', it spurred him further.
"That also turned the lights on and I thought, 'You’ve gotta do something different,'" he continued. "Why don't you try embracing sobriety?
"I realized I'm not embarrassed anymore about it, and I started treating sobriety like a superpower. I was proud of the fact that I could quit."
In April 2024, the 'Without Me' rapper proudly showed off his 16 years of sobriety as he held a chip commemorating the achievement in a post on Instagram.
Mathers also spoke out about his road to recovery in an episode of Paul Rosenberg's Paul Pod podcast in 2022, revealing how kicking the booze and drugs made him enjoy making music again as he felt genuinely 'happy'.
"I remember when I first got sober and all the s*** was out of my system, I remember just being, like, really happy and everything was f***ing new to me again," he said at the time.
As for the documentary, fans lucky enough to grab a seat at AMC theatres for the limited time it aired got to hear the iconic rapper delve into his 'complicated relationship' between his 'massive public persona' and private life, the synopsis teases, with exclusive footage of Em himself.
"It offers a raw, loud, and revealing journey across his career - and the passionate audience that has grown with him," it adds.
The tell-all movie also comes as Eminem hilariously treated fans to an epic and unexpected appearance in Happy Gilmore 2 alongside his long-term buddy Adam Sandler where his character, Donald Jr, heckles Happy by relentlessly calling him a 'jacka**'.
STANS hit AMC movie theaters for a limited time only up until August 10, though it is anticipated the film will be available to stream worldwide on Paramount+ later this year.
If you've been affected by addiction and want to speak to someone in confidence, you can call American Addiction Centers on (888) 324-0595, available 24/7, or contact them through their website.
