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US President hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy has taken a jab at Eminem after the rapper sent him a cease and desist letter over his use of the song 'Lose Yourself'.
Ramaswamy really did lose himself in the moment when he started rapping Eminem's popular track to close out his appearance at the Iowa State Fair earlier this month, but it quickly came back to bite him.
On 23 August, Ramaswamy’s campaign lawyer received a letter sent on behalf of the Rap God, via his music performing rights organization BMI, which objected 'to the campaign’s use of Eminem’s musical compositions'.
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“BMI will consider any performance of the Eminem Works by the Vivek 2024 campaign from this date forward to be a material breach of the Agreement for which BMI reserves all rights and remedies with respect thereto,” the letter stated.
Ramaswamy addressed the cease and desist letter in an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday (29 August), when he made clear that he will 'respect [Eminem's] wishes'.
However, the Republican couldn't help but throw a little shade towards Shady as he continued: "I’ll just say this: Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?"
“Eminem in his rise used to be a guy who actually stood up to the establishment and said the things that the establishment didn’t want him to say," Ramaswamy continued.
"I think the fact that my political viewpoints may differ from his, I think people change over the course of their lives. But I have hope for him that he will one day rediscover the renegade that made him great and I’m rooting for that success in his life.”
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The politician's comments echoed those that he made on X, also known as Twitter, after news of the cease and desist first emerged.
"Will The REAL Slim Shady Please Stand Up?," Ramaswamy wrote after spotting a news article about the legal warning. "He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he?"
Part of Ramaswamy's saltiness towards the rapper may be because he's taken away his opportunity to campaign to the soundtrack of what he told Iowa was his favorite song.
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In an interview with The New York Times, Ramaswamy, the son of a physician mother and engineer father, explained why he's such a fan of Eminem, saying: “I did not grow up in the circumstances he did.
“But the idea of being an underdog, people having low expectations of you, that part speaks to me.”
Footage of Ramaswamy's 'Lose Yourself' performance quickly gained attention after it was shared online, making him a recognizable face in the presidential race.
Emily Brown