Eminem Talks Addiction, Feels For Michael Jackson

Eminem has targeted a lot of celebrities in his songs and videos, including a swing at Michael Jackson in his 2004 video “Just Lose It.” But, after a rough five years in which the rapper kicked his own addiction and delved into a bit o’ personal discovery, Em is now ready to empathize with Jackson, and says that the drug problems both he and Jackson suffered from are “one of the pitfalls of fame.”

The rapper spoke to Complex and says that he blames Jackson’s fame for his death. Eminem reveals that he also dealt with an addiction to Vicodin and explained, “I definitely can relate, and it’s a shame if he didn’t have anybody there to just say, ‘Michael, you’re an addict, you need help.’” Em is sporting a new look these days, which is another result of his sobriety. He went back to his brown roots, saying “I’m like 35 years old, am I going to keep dying my hair f*cking blond?’ Also it was just about letting go. The hair reminded me of my addiction, and I hated myself when I was in my addiction. I hated myself worse than anyone could ever hate me.”

In addition to the new hair, Eminem also promises fewer jokes in his music, saying he wrote “songs instead of one-liners.” With all this change, it’s like we don’t even know the real Slim Shady anymore. [Photo: GettyImages]