October 12, 2004 - Michael’s Comments on the Eminem Video

At 8 a.m. on Tuesday, October 12, Michael Jackson appeared on the Steve Harvey radio show, broadcast on Radio One, to talk about Eminem’s new video. In this exclusive interview with Steve Harvey, Michael said:

" Steve, I want to thank you, Radio One, the African-American community in the United States, my fans around the world, and some members of the media for your support. I also want to thank Mr. Robert Johnson, the founder and president of BET, for pulling Eminem’s video from the schedule of programs that were going to be aired on that network. I truly appreciate the love and support you’ve shown me.
I’m very upset about being portrayed in Eminem’s new video. I think it’s disrespectful and insulting. This (video) is, on the one hand, a copied comic-style display, and on the other, it’s demeaning and dismissive of other people’s feelings.
I’ve always admired Eminem as an artist, and I was shocked by this video. For me, for my children, for my family, and for society as a whole, it was inappropriate and offensive. I hope that other networks, like BET, will also remove this video from their programming.