Michael Jackson once flipped the script on Eminem after he was featured in an infamous 2004 diss in his Slim Shady era track.
When a public jab turns into a power move, there are few responses louder than using money and influence to change the playing field entirely.
That’s essentially what happened after Eminem’s 2004 single ‘Just Lose It’ took shots at the King of Pop, referencing past allegations about Jackson’s sexual conduct involving children.
The song’s music video leaned into parody too, with Eminem appearing in multiple costumes, including Santa, and also dressed as Jackson in a red sequinned jacket with black trousers and black shoes.
Although the track and backlash are now decades old, the moment has been resurfacing online lately as interest in Jackson’s story spikes again ahead of the Michael biopic, due out this year, in which his nephew Jaafar Jackson plays him.
Eminem, of course, has a long history of feuds and public fallouts — from family members like his mother Debbie, to ex Kim, and other high-profile names including Christina Aguilera, Elton John, Machine Gun Kelly, Jessica Simpson, Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon, among others.
But ‘Just Lose It’ was the track that appeared to aim directly at Jackson, and it prompted Jackson to condemn the lyrics and the portrayal in an interview with a Los Angeles radio station.
At the time, he said: “I am very angry at Eminem’s depiction of me in his video. I feel that it is outrageous and disrespectful. It is one thing to spoof, but it is another to be demeaning and insensitive.”
Jackson continued: “I’ve admired Eminem as an artist, and was shocked by this. The video was inappropriate and disrespectful to me, my children, my family and the community at large.”
In Eminem’s verse, he rapped about the child sexual abuse allegations that Jackson repeatedly denied and fought for years, while also referencing Jackson’s plastic surgery and the 1984 incident where his hair caught fire while filming a Pepsi commercial.
He rapped: “Come here, little kiddies, on my lap,
“Guess who’s back with a brand new rap?
“And I don’t mean ‘rap’ as in a new case,
“Of child molestation accusations,
“Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah, no worries,
“Papa’s got a brand new bag of toys,
“What else could I possibly do to make noise?
“I done touched on everything but little boys,
“And that’s not a stab at Michael,
“That’s just a metaphor, I’m just psycho,
“I go a little bit crazy sometimes,
“I get a little bit out of control with my rhymes.”
Rather than firing back with a musical response, Jackson allegedly took a much more strategic route: in 2007, he became a part-owner of Eminem’s back catalogue after his company Sony/ATV acquired Famous Music, the business that held rights connected to the rapper’s work.
As reported by The New York Times, Sony paid out Jackson’s estate $370 million for a stake in a major catalogue that included songs linked to Eminem.
That same deal also meant Jackson’s parent company gained ownership rights tied to other artists’ catalogues as well, including Bjork, Shakira and Beck.
Despite having previously branded the video and lyrics as “disrespectful”, Jackson didn’t appear to take further aim at ‘Just Lose It’ after the acquisition.
Boss Hunting later reported that Eminem bought his publishing rights back in 2016.