The mother of a teenager killed in the 2017 Manchester terror attack has criticised Eminem, for a freestyle rap in which he referenced the incident.
Charlotte Hodgson’s 15-year-old daughter Olivia Campbell-Hardy was one of 22 people who died in the incident, which took place at Ariana Grande’s show at the M.E.N. Arena last year.
She has branded Eminem a “vile human”, after he released a freestyle rap in which he compared himself to the suicide bomber responsible for the terror attack.
On ‘Kick Off’, released last week, he raps: “Squashed in between a brainwashing machine, like an Islamic regime, a jihadist extreme radical, suicide bomber that’s seeing Ariana Grande sing her last song of the evening, and as the audience from the damn concert is leaving, detonates the device strapped to his abdominal region.
“I’m not gonna finish that, for obvious reasons.”
Responding to the distasteful rap, Charlotte told the Manchester Evening News: “I didn’t think anybody could do this and be so disrespectful to us all. It’s vile and he is a vile human for doing it.
“Why would anyone compare themselves to a Jihadist or a bomber? I think he needs help if he sees himself like that.”
She added: “Why would anyone want to listen to it for entertainment? Ariana did a very respectful song in memory of everyone there and that was lovely, a fantastic gesture, as she was involved too, but why would people want to make money out of such a horrific event?”
At the beginning of the ‘Kick Off’ video, Eminem says: “The main objective [of a rap battle] is to destroy.
“Completely fucking obliterate your opponent by saying anything and everything, whatever the fuck you can, to get a reaction from the crowd. So nothing’s off limits.”
HuffPost UK has reached out to Eminem’s representatives for further comment.
For her efforts after the terror attack, which included visiting victims’ families and helping put together the One Love Manchester concert, Ariana was made an honorary citizen of Manchester.
In recent years, Eminem has won praise for his freestyle raps taking aim at Donald Trump, though a track on his most recent album was panned for his use of a homophobic slur.