It turns out that when rapper Eminem rapped in his 2018 song “The Ringer” that he’d been visited by the Secret Service, he was telling the truth, reports Variety.
According to documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by Buzzfeed, the rapper — who has made it no secret of his loathing for President Donald Trump and his daughter Ivanka — was indeed interviewed by Secret Service agents in connection with his lyrics about the two, specifically in the song “Framed,” from the “Revival” album.
Eminem’s scathing freestyle aired during the BET Awards in 2017. Agents met with Eminem (born name: Marshall Mathers) on Jan. 16, 2018. In the most entertaining segment of the report, it recounts that when agents began reading the lyrics of the freestyle, “Mathers was familiar with the song and began to rap along with the interviewers as the verse was read.” The interview concluded peacefully and was discussed two days later at an agency meeting, where “it was determined that this case will be NON-REFERRED” to a prosecutor — meaning the agents decided Eminem did not seem to pose a plausible threat to the president or his family.
The visit was spurred by a call from a “concerned citizen” — who, fittingly enough, turned out to be an unnamed TMZ reporter — that called the agency on Dec. 15, 2017 — the day “Revival” was released — to point out that the album includes a “new song called ‘Framed’ with an inappropriate comment toward President Donald Trump and a threatening comment towards Ivanka Trump.”
“I want to know if your agency is investigating Eminem for his threatening lyrics about First daughter Ivanka Trump,” the reporter asked. In their report, the agents included several lyrics, focusing on the “Framed” line, “How the f— is Ivanka Trump in the trunk of my car?/…Plus I feel somewhat responsible for the dumb little blonde/ Girl, that motherf—in’ baton twirler that got dumped in the pond/ Second murder with no recollection of it.”
In “The Ringer,” Eminem raps, “Agent Orange just sent the Secret Service/ To meet in person to see if I really think of hurtin’ him/ Or ask if I’m linked to terrorists / I said, ‘Only when it comes to ink and lyricists.’”
