Benzino Claims Michael Jackson Thanked Him For Eminem Diss

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"Hollywood Hearts" Atlanta Premiere
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 06: Benzino attends "Hollywood Hearts" Atlanta movie premiere at Regal Atlantic Station on October 6, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images)

Benzino says that Michael Jackson once thanked him for beefing with Eminem.

Benzino says that Michael Jackson once thanked him for dissing Eminem amid his long-standing feud with the Detroit rapper. Benzino reflected on getting a phone call from Jackson at the time during a recent appearance on The Gauds Show. He explained that the King of Pop was upset with Eminem for poking fun at him with the music video for "Just Lose It."

“Let me tell you, Michael Jackson called me,” Benzino revealed to hosts Ray Daniels and Tamira Smith. “I knew Mike. I met Mike through Teddy [Riley]. He called me and he thanked me. Because when Eminem dissed him with the fire situation, in the [‘Just Lose It’] video, Mike called — and I remember his assistant put him on the phone — and I sat there and listened to him. And he thanked me."

Benzino At A Screening In 2022

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MAY 04: Benzino attends the Atlanta private screening of "Mixed Girl" at Silverspot Cinema on May 04, 2022 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images)

From there, Benzino continued: "He started talking about Tommy Mottola. And it was one of the greatest moments of my life. And I’m not saying it because all white people are bad. We’re not saying that. Not all of them are devils. But Mike was referring to the situation in the music industry, and he was just going on a rant. But I’ll never forget that. I was at a point in my life that I didn’t have to answer to nobody. Everything I said was true. I said that Black people got Hip Hop and we got white people to finally buy into it. And now, they wanna give white people something that they can buy into. When Eminem came out, he just got different treatment than every other Black rapper. And I just didn’t appreciate that.”

Benzino's beef with Eminem flared up again in 2022 when the legendary rapper was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Benzino's daughter, Coi Leray, congratulated Eminem, prompting a public spat between the two of them.

Benzino Recalls The Phone Call From Michael Jackson

[Via]

About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.