Kid Rock announced this week that his upcoming Christian album, “Halfway 2 Jesus,” will feature a track with fellow Detroit native Eminem, prompting a wave of online criticism from some Eminem fans who say they’re disappointed by the pairing.
The backlash began almost immediately after the announcement. “Eminem is featured on Kid Rock’s new Christian album ‘Halfway 2 Jesus’. I’m so disappointed in Em. He obviously knows better, yet he’d rather collab with this MAGA nut!” one Reddit user wrote within two hours of the news breaking.
Other commenters piled on, with several saying they planned to remove Eminem’s music from their playlists over the collaboration. “Yup, just removed the last of the Eminem songs from my playlist,” one user wrote. “I’m disappointed but not particularly surprised.” Another added, “I can live without Em in my playlist.”
Some reactions veered into broader political commentary unrelated to the music itself. “I’ll never be surprised when a white man is conservative,” one commenter wrote. Another mocked the outrage by pointing to Eminem’s own catalog: “The guy who made a song about fantasizing about murdering his ex wife is MAGA adjacent? Shocking. Absolutely shocking.”
A few skeptics questioned whether the collaboration was genuine at all. “That doesn’t sound right given how anti-TRUMP/MAGA Em is,” one user wrote, asking whether Kid Rock had simply sampled Eminem’s name rather than secured an actual feature. Another user pushed back on the confusion, writing, “Eminem has made it clear he’ll remain friends with kid rock despite their political differences.”
A Detroit friendship that predates the politics
The two artists’ musical ties go back decades. Eminem appeared on Kid Rock’s 1998 track “Fuck Off,” and Kid Rock appeared in the music video for Eminem’s 2013 song “Berzerk.” Both men have deep roots in Detroit and have remained publicly friendly even as their politics diverged sharply.
Eminem has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump for years, including a 2017 freestyle video posted to social media attacking the president, and he backed Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential campaign. Kid Rock, by contrast, has been an outspoken Trump supporter and MAGA figure.
Despite that divide, the two have made clear the friendship isn’t going anywhere. In October 2024, Kid Rock said in a video, “I love Eminem. We’ve been friends for many years. I don’t agree with his politics, but I do give credit to him and people like Taylor Swift for standing up and not being afraid to be vocal for that which they believe.”
“Here’s one thing @KidRock and I do agree on… GO @Lions !!!! Appreciate you, Bob,” Eminem wrote on X in response, referring to Kid Rock by his given name, Robert James Ritchie.
Neither artist has publicly addressed the online boycott calls directly. The reaction has mostly played out in social media comment sections and forums, with fans disagreeing over whether a musical collaboration between two old friends from the same hometown should be read as a political statement at all.
