Marshall does not often weigh in on legal matters, but when the headlines got it wrong, he stepped up to make things clear: this Meta lawsuit is not his.
When Eminem breaks his silence on a legal story, you know the coverage has gone off the rails. That is exactly what happened this week, and while much of the media misreported the lawsuit against Meta as his, we stuck to the facts. Now Slim himself has stepped in to confirm it.
Eminem issued a statement to XXL addressing the confusion around the lawsuit filed last week by his former music publisher, Eight Mile Style. The $109 million case accuses Meta of using his music, including “Till I Collapse” and “Lose Yourself”, on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp without proper licensing.
But Eminem made it clear: he is not behind it.
“8 Mile Style is a publishing company that administers my early catalog releases”, his statement reads. “The Meta lawsuit came from them, not me. I’m not personally involved with it, and I am not a party to the suit”.
We reported from the beginning that Eight Mile Style, not Marshall Mathers, filed the federal complaint. The suit claims Meta used Eminem’s songs in billions of posts and reels, often via instrumental and karaoke versions that are still live on its platforms. It also alleges Meta obtained the tracks through a deal with licensing firm Audiam, a deal the publisher says was not authorised.
In response to the media reporting, Meta said:
“Meta has licenses with thousands of partners around the world and an extensive global licensing program for music on its platforms. Meta had been negotiating in good faith with Eight Mile Style, but rather than continue those discussions, Eight Mile Style chose to sue”.
Eight Mile Style, co-founded by Eminem’s longtime producers, the Bass Brothers, holds rights to much of his early catalogue and has a litigation history over copyright use. Not all cases go in their favour, but this one has already caused a stir, mostly because of how widely it was misrepresented.
To be clear: Eminem is not suing Meta. His music is at the centre of the case, but his involvement ends there, just as we reported before the headlines ran wild.
