One of the odd things about cancel campaigns is the habit of treating that which is very, very public as though it had been a secret. Consider this sentence, from music journalist Will Lavin about the recent campaign against Eminem: “The new track arrives after a TikTok campaign was started earlier this week calling for Eminem’s cancellation after lyrics from his 2010 single with Rihanna ‘Love the Way You Lie’ resurfaced.”
Resurfaced? As though they previously had been hidden?
“Love the Way You Lie” is a song famous enough that it is familiar even to such far-from-the-vital-center-of-pop-culture types as yours truly. It is Eminem’s best-selling single, went to No. 1 on the charts, was nominated for a handful of Grammys, and is, still, inescapable on the radio. Who, exactly, is learning about this song for the first time?
You discovered that Eminem has some controversial lyrics? Well, Sunshine: There’s a difference between new and new to you.