Eminem Allegedly Siding With Chris Brown Over 2009 Rihanna Assault Has Fans Furious and Heartbroken

A leaked Eminem verse from more than a decade ago seemingly showing him supporting Chris Brown’s 2009 assault of Rihanna has the internet divided as they struggle to reconcile the rapper’s words with his friendship and collaborations with his fellow artist. In a clip that surfaced on Reddit, Eminem appears to be heard saying, “I’d side with Chris Brown, I’d beat down a b— too.” The clip is said to be an outtake from an unreleased version of rapper B.o.B.’s 2011 song, “Things Get Worse,” during which he also claims to have “murdered” Dakota Fanning.

The snippet was reportedly recorded during the production of Eminem’s 2009 album Relapse.

Upon seeing what Eminem, real name Marshall Mathers, said about Rihanna, with whom he collaborated for the hit songs “FourFiveSeconds” in 2016 and “Love the Way You Lie” in 2010, Twitter was furious at his double standard of friendship.

Another Twitter user wrote, “She basically gave him two No. 1 hits and helped keep him relevant. Rihanna is unbothered, but this is another item on Eminem‘s long, long list of problematic verses and quotes (against women).”

“Eminem grown a— really glorifying rihanna abuse for a damn song after my fav lend her vocals to numerous songs for him is disgusting,” yet another added.

Others defended Eminem for the verse, saying it was far from the most controversial thing he had said over the years and saying Rihanna’s close relationship with the rapper speaks for itself.

“The song was recorded in 2007 and was never released for a reason,” one Eminem fan wrote. “In 2007, eminem had severe drug issues and even ODed and almost died. since 2007, eminem and rihanna have become close friends, have made 4 songs together and even had a collaborative world tour, calm down.”

Another added, “Clowns making this a big deal & are fake offended by this when Eminem already rapped about: 1) R*ping his mom 2) Getting f—d by his father 3) Peeing on Rihanna & Fergie 4) M*rdering/beating his wife,women & gays 5) Shoving a Gerbil up his a—. All this for shock value.”

Photo credit: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images for MTV