The gay rights movement has found an unlikely new supporter: Eminem.
In an interview with The New York Times, the rapper, 37 — known for using homophobic slurs in his music — says he supports gay marriage.
"I think if two people love each other, then what the hell?" he says. "I think that everyone should have the chance to be equally miserable, if they want."
Seems Eminem (who has been sober for the past two years) is a different man these days.
"It’s the new tolerant me!" says the rapper.
The Times notes that his new album, Recovery, is less violent and graphic than his previous work.
Does that mean that Slim Shady, his raping and killing alter ego, is gone?
"Shady still exists," he says. "But I don’t think the subjects on this record call for, you know, bring the chainsaws and axes out and murder everyone on this record. There was so much stuff like that off the last record that I felt like I was starting to run it into the ground. I think consciously I went in a different direction with this record."
He says he doesn't have any regrets about his past work.
"Anything I’ve ever said, I certainly was feeling at the time," he tells The Times. "But I think I’ve calmed down a bit. My overall look on things is a lot more mature than it used to be."
Some areas in his life still need to be improved: He says he has yet to make ammends with his estranged mother.
Says the rapper, "It’d be very hard to repair that relationship."
