Each year, America’s best musical acts gather in Los Angeles for the Grammy Awards, an over-the-top ceremony where winners are selected in dozens of categories. The Grammys are the country’s biggest musical event of the year: Millions of people watch the awards on TV, not only to find out who won, but also to see some of their favorite stars perform on stage. That fact puts a lot of pressure on the stars that perform there. They must make their few minutes on stage memorable. Sometimes, that can mean a performance so touching that those viewing are brought to tears. Other times, it can mean a routine so bizarre that people talk about it for days afterward.
Some of the best-known musicians of all time have performed under the bright lights of the Grammys. In 1988, “King of Pop” Michael Jackson moved the audience to tears with his performance of “Man in the Mirror.” One year later, legendary singer Whitney Houston did the same with her inspirational song, “One Moment in Time.” Jackson’s and Houston’s performances are considered among the best in the storied history of the event, but there is another Grammy moment that almost always tops critics’ lists. It was the 2001 performance by rapper Eminem.
Shown before the start of the Grammy Awards, GLAAD and their advocates made it known that they were not okay with Eminem being recognized positively for his lyrics.
That show took place February 21 at L.A.’s Staples Center. The crowd that night was full of celebrities and the lineup full of star performers, but Eminem is the one that a majority of Americans tuned in to see. The Detroit rapper’s third album had been released just a few months earlier and many groups and organizations had taken offense to lyrics on it they deemed offensive. One of those organizations was the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which felt many of Eminem’s lyrics were homophobic. Weeks before the 2001 Grammys, GLAAD announced it would stage a protest outside the Staples Center on the day of the event. Several other organizations joined in. GLAAD’s entertainment director, Scott Seomin, said at the time: “[Eminem’s] lyrics encourage violence against gays and lesbians and women,” and that the rapper’s lyrics were hateful and derogatory.
By that time, it was well known that Eminem had planned to use his Grammy moment to fire back at GLAAD. Weeks earlier, Eminem had announced that superstar entertainer Elton John, a gay man and a longtime activist for gay rights, was going to join him on stage to sing the song “Stan.” GLAAD was furious at John’s decision to team with Eminem. The group had sent a letter to John asking him to reconsider his decision to sing with Eminem. When that did not stop him, the group spoke out publicly. “We feel betrayed by Elton John, who has used his gayness for good and here he’s using it for evil,” Seomin said.
John defended his decision in the media. He told The Los Angeles Times: “I’m a big fan of [Eminem’s] music, and I said I would be delighted to [do the song]. I know I’m going to get a lot of flak from various people who are going to picket the show. [But} I’d rather tear down walls between people than build them up. If I thought for one minute that he was [hateful], I wouldn’t do it.”
Eminem and Elton John embrace in a monumental hug at the 2001 Grammy Awards.
Right before one of the most controversial hugs ever, Eminem and Elton John performed Eminem’s song “Stan” together.
Eminem and John did do it, taking to the stage—set up to look like a bedroom with a large video screen in the background displaying a lightning storm—for nearly six-and-a-half minutes. After the song was finished, Eminem and John met in the middle of the stage and hugged each other. Entertainment Weekly said: “It was the hug heard ’round the world.”
In a book he wrote years later, Eminem also said he knew how important that moment on stage was: “My performance with Elton John…that was history.…Elton put himself at risk by performing with me—in terms of alienating his fans who had a problem with me—and I’ll always respect him for that. The gesture helped immensely, and it made me not sweat the fact that there were all those protesters outside wanting me to go away forever.”
Even after all the controversy, Eminem still won three Grammys in 2001.
For Eminem, the notorious Grammy performance and the controversy that surrounded it was just another day on the job. The twenty-eight-year-old, blue-eyed rapper had grown used to being in the spotlight. He knew many people hated him. He knew many people loved him. But the most surprising facet of Eminem’s life was the fact that anyone knew who he was at all.