Detroit-based rapper Eminem's child has come out as gender fluid and bisexual. In an Aug. 7 TikTok video that began with the words "Watch me become more comfortable with myself," the "8 Mile" star's 19-year-old child revealed their name henceforth would be Stevie and that their preferred pronouns would be they/she/he going forward.
In the video, Stevie chronicles their transformation and uses the hashtags #genderfluid and #bi. They also spoke in the comments about their new name.
"I spent a long time trying to pick a name I felt comfortable with and the first name I felt comfortable with is Stevie!"
Eminem, 48, legally adopted Stevie, who is the biological child of his ex-wife Kim Scott, in 2005. He has two other children, daughter Hallie, whose mother is also Scott, and his other adopted daughter Alaina, whose mother is Scott's late twin sister.
"I have a niece that I have helped raise, too, that's pretty much like a daughter to me, and she is 26, and I have a younger one that's 17 now," Eminem said on Mike Tyson's Hotboxin' podcast in early 2020. "So when I think about my accomplishments, that's probably the thing I'm the most proud of, is being able to raise kids."
But if Eminem is supportive of Stevie, his relationship with the LGBTQ+ community over the years has been contentious. Dating back to his first album, 1999's "The Slim Shady LP," Eminem has a history of using anti-gay slurs, particularly the word "faggot," which he says on his most recent release, 2020's "Music to Be Murdered By." Em has repeatedly said that he came up using the word in rap battles and that he never specifically associated the word with literally meaning gay.
Back in 2013, Eminem addressed the controversy with Rolling Stone.
"[I'm] not saying it's wrong or it's right, but at this point in my career – man, I say so much shit that's tongue-in-cheek," he said in the interview. "I poke fun at other people, myself. But the real me sitting here right now talking to you has no issues with gay, straight, transgender, at all. I'm glad we live in a time where it's really starting to feel like people can live their lives and express themselves. And I don't know how else to say this, I still look at myself the same way that I did when I was battling and broke."
Eminem does have his supporters in the LGBTQ+ community, including the legendary Sir Elton John, with whom he has shared a friendship going back 20 years. John came to Eminem's defense in 2001 when the two performed together at the Grammys and ended the number by holding hands.
Speaking of the rapper on The Graham Norton Show, John said, "We became friends. We've been amazing friends ever since. He's an amazing guy. … I just adore him."
