Tyler the Creator apologizes for ‘attacking’ Eminem album after watching Painkiller

Tyler, The Creator has apologized for publicly slamming Eminem’s Recovery album, crediting Netflix’s 2023 Painkiller miniseries with changing his “limited perspective” on drug addiction.

During a recent appearance on Maverick Carter’s Mavericks show, Tyler, 33, addressed his past tweets about the rapper’s 2010 record, which featured more introspective and personal songs about his road to sobriety.

“I was a big Eminem fan, and when that album came out, I f***ing hated it – hated it – publicly said like, ‘This s*** is whack,’ didn’t like it,” the “Earfquake” artist admitted.

It wasn’t until he watched Painkiller, Peter Berg’s one-season drama about America’s opioid crisis, that he gained a new perspective on addiction and felt “so bad” about his previous criticism.

“Because thinking from his perspective, someone like me publicly saying that stuff, and him getting off drugs and being clean and getting to a point in life where that’s behind him, and me implying, ‘Nah, this s*** is wack.’ He probably felt like I was attacking him,” he said.

Tyler explained: “I thought I was just like, ‘I don’t like the music.’ He was in a different part of his life and probably felt like I was attacking him. And, now, I feel so bad about saying that stuff because my perspective was so limited.”

Eminem eventually hit back at Tyler in his 2018 diss track “Fall,” with the lyrics: “Tyler create nothin’. I see why you called yourself a f***** b****.”

In an interview with The Guardian a year later, Eminem implied he regretted using the homophobic slur against Tyler. “Because in my quest to hurt him, I realize that I was hurting a lot of other people by saying it... at the time I was so mad,” he said at the time. “It was one of the things that I kept going back to and going ‘I don’t feel right with this’.”

“I love Eminem,” Tyler clarified to host Carter. “That dude taught me how to rap. I learned how to put words together in rhythm because of some of the Eminem stuff I was hearing, and his storytelling.

“So, after watching that show, that gave me perspective, and I felt so terrible about some of the things I said about that Recovery album because I realize that was a big step and meant a lot to him,” he added.

“And my f***ing young stupid ass was like, ‘Ugh I want to hear the same song and dance, and I love the Eminem show.’ I felt terrible. And if I ever see him, I want to say that to him in person.”

The “Real Slim Shady” artist previously opened up about losing five years of his life to substance abuse, telling Rolling Stone in 2011 that his addiction to prescription drugs wiped out brain cells.

“I don’t know if it sounds like I’m making excuses, but the absolute truth is a lot of my memory is gone. I don’t know if you’ve ever taken Ambien, but it’s kind of a memory-eraser. That s*** wiped out five years of my life,” Eminem said.

If you or someone you know is suffering from drug addiction, you can seek confidential help and support 24-7 from Frank, by calling 0300 123 6600, texting 82111, sending an email or visiting their website here.

In the US, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration can be reached at 1-800-662-HELP.