For His 8th Birthday, Her Son Wanted An Eminem Themed Birthday Party — And This Mom Delivered
When you’re trying to come up with a themed birthday party for your 8-year-old son, the first thing that would come to mind is probably some kind of Disney Pixar movie, a kids' TV show, or something that would appeal to a younger audience much more heavily than 50-year-old Marshall Mathers, also known as the rapper Eminem.
A mother of three from Utah named Cassidy Merrill recently posted a video of the party she threw for her son’s 8th birthday that included all of his friends.
The mom threw her 8-year-old son an Eminem-themed birthday party.
It might be hard to get “The Real Slim Shady” to stand up at this birthday party, seeing as Merrill’s 8-year-old son and all his friends were completely decked out in Eminem costumes. Outfitted in black jackets and t-shirts, baggy pants, black beanies, sunglasses, and chains, there truly was a Slim Shady in all of the kids who attended this young boy’s birthday party.
Uploaded alongside a video compilation of the events that took place during her son’s party was the uncensored version of the song “My Name Is,” where Eminem practically lists every single reason he would be a terrible role model for 8-year-old kids.
Throwing the absolute shock that 8-year-old kids even know who Eminem is to the wayside, it’s a mystery to see how Merrill was incredibly supportive of her son’s birthday wishes. It was even more shocking to see all of the supportive comments she received both on TikTok and Instagram.
Unless she’s been working overtime to remove all of the negative comments from her social media posts, people were thrilled by the Eminem-themed party she threw — and it’s very clear that Merrill went all out. She rented a Hummer limo, took all of them for food at Chick-fil-A, went on a shopping trip to the mall, and let them dance and rap along to songs from his older albums.
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“I’m not sure if I should be PROUD or HORRIFIED that my kid wanted an Eminem party for his 8th birthday,” she wrote in the caption of her Instagram post — but people reassured her that she should be proud.
Eminem’s fans have always been predominantly young, and he’s not as bad as his music makes him seem.
I’m an Eminem fan as much as the next 90s kid. I’ve been listening to his music since before Merril’s son’s age — entranced by his rapping skills and lyricism, I listened to all of his music up until 2013, even learning the lyrics for the majority of his discography.
As a self-proclaimed professional on the content of his songs, I can confidently say that it’s incredibly shocking to see a mother support her son’s interest in Eminem in this way. I mean, he talks about drugs, sex, and fictionally violent moments all throughout his older albums.
Shocking because I would argue that most parents wouldn’t want their kids listening to that sort of thing, but it’s possible to support your kid’s interests while also teaching them the dangers of the things Eminem associated with in his songs and in real life.
Despite his lyrical content, Eminem was always popular with kids and referred to that fact in his music. He would regularly talk about the influence he had on the youth who bought his CDs and how that contributed, in part, to his controversial past.
Plus, outside of the content in his older music, Eminem is a very inspiring man and has done a lot of good for his community and the people around him. From Detroit, Michigan, Eminem quietly created the Marshall Mathers Foundation, which raises money to help disadvantaged youth in his hometown.
He’s regularly doing kind things for his fans and is also a parent in his own right — the father of three kids, Hailie Jade Scott, Alaina Scott, and Stevie Laine Scott with his ex-wife Kim Scott.
He’s an inspiration to many and is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. He’s been sober for 14 years and has largely changed how explicit and offensive his music is.
Coming from nearly nothing and struggling through a drug addiction that nearly killed him, Eminem turned his life around and could be considered a great role model in today’s day and age. Maybe that’s why Merrill didn’t bat an eye when she allowed her son to dress up as Slim Shady himself.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor for YourTango who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.
This article originally appeared on YourTango