Is Eminem dead? The death hoax explained

Once again, “Is Eminem dead” has trended on social media and online around Dec. 10, 2023 — here’s a closer look at the latest apparent death hoax involving the hip-hop star.

False reports that Slim Shady passed have happened before, namely, in 2020, as the Independent reported that year. There’s even an outrageous conspiracy theory that Em died in 2006 and was replaced — or, in fact, the “Real Slim Shady” was no longer the genuine article. Furthermore, just a few months before the Dec. 2023 death hoax, in August, a viral Facebook simply stating: “R.I.P. Eminem” sent concerned fans to their favorite search engine for more information.

Eminem — real name Marshall Mathers — turned out to be alive and well in each one of those instances. As for the Dec. 2023 news that he died, no official report has been made on the matter, so we can safely assume that’s the case now, too.

But with that in mind, what’s up with the latest controversy?

Eminem’s Wikipedia page was edited

Reportedly, Eminem’s date of death on Wikipedia was edited to say Dec. 10, 2023, in Madison, Wisconsin, at the age of 51. From the start, there was one telling clue that it was fake: The new date showed up on Dec. 9, so unless a time traveler jumped back 24 hours to share the news, that alone should have calmed anyone’s fear he was gone. Em’s Wikipedia page has since been edited.

As mentioned, Eminem has yet to comment publicly on the matter, but this, too, seems to be yet another Eminem death hoax. However, the far-fetched nature of the claim didn’t stop people from posting about it on X, formerly Twitter.

In response the the false report, one person commented:

“Whoever made this needs to be sent straight to jail. My heart is pounding and I genuinely felt sick seeing this. Actual heart palpitations! Eminem is my all time favourite artist – ever! Dudes music literally changed my life. Thank f**k this isn’t real!”

And another added, “If this is real then life sucks.”

Most people saw through it right away, though:

False reports that Eminem died just a few days after he launched a new Fortnite skin and a virtual performance on the platform on Dec. 2 — maybe that had something to do with it?