Slim Shady escapes Secret Service probe
The US Secret Service said today it did not plan a formal investigation into song lyrics by rapper Eminem.
The controversial star boasted in an unreleased song – We As Americans – that he would “rather see the President dead”.
The Secret Service, which guards the President, said at the weekend it was examining the words to see if a threat had been made against George Bush.
Today spokesman John Gill said: “The Secret Service has no current plans to open an investigation into this matter.”
But he added the Secret Service was “concerned about communications that can be interpreted in a manner perhaps not intended by the artist, and the potential peripheral impact that such lyrics can have on other individuals”.
He added: “The Secret Service takes every potential threat against the President seriously. We don’t have the luxury to do otherwise.”
A spokesman for Eminem said the song was unfinished and it was unclear when and in what format it would be released.
The controversial lyric emerged when bootleg copies appeared on the internet.
Eminem, from Detroit, came under fire recently after a tape was uncovered in which he condemned black women.
The star said the words were “foolishness“, and the result of a split with a black girlfriend.
Meanwhile, his track Lose Yourself has been nominated for song and record of the year at the 46th annual Grammy Awards, which will be presented in Los Angeles in February.
