The Canadian actor has never spoken directly with Eminem about being name-dropped in The Real Slim Shady, but over the years, he has picked up signs that the rap legend might be a fan.
For those who may not remember, Eminem referenced Green’s signature brand of absurd comedy in his 2000 hit:
Sometimes I wanna get on TV and just let loose
But can’t, but it’s cool for Tom Green to hump a dead moose
Green, known for over-the-top pranks and shock humour — including his infamous “Bum Bum Song” — never saw the line as a diss. “If you really listen to what he’s saying, it’s not actually a diss”, he explained once. “He’s kind of saying he envied that I was able to let loose on TV while he couldn’t”.
Since then, he has learned more about Eminem’s connection to his work, including one major clue — Eminem personally approved the use of “The Real Slim Shady” in Green’s 2001 film Freddy Got Fingered.
But the biggest sign of all is that Eminem genuinely enjoyed his show, Green believes. He said n this recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter:
“I’ve never gotten the opportunity to just sit down with him and talk about it because he’s famously hard to reach. But when I made Freddy Got Fingered, we used that song in the soundtrack at the end of the movie over the credit roll, and through channels, we reached out to him, and he licensed it to us. Very rarely, if almost never, does he license his music to movies. And you see in the documentary how he dressed up as me on MTV and did some funny things on Total Request Live where he impersonated me. I’ve heard through the grapevine that he was a fan of the show back in the day, so I always thought that was pretty cool”.
It is not every day that one of the biggest rappers in the world does an impression of you on national TV. Over 20 years later, Green still appreciates the nod — and the fact that his legacy remains tied to one of Eminem’s most iconic songs.
