EMAND ELTON’SBOND
IT’S an unlikely pairing but during one of the darkest moments of his life – after he’d nearly died of a fatal drug overdose – rapper EMINEM reached out to British superstar ELTON JOHN. And they’ve been friends ever since. Em, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, was taking up to 30 Vicodin a day, according to a new biography titled Not Afraid: The Evolution of Eminem. Vicodin is a powerful and addictive pain reliever.
In the book, the rapper (47) shares that at one point in 2007 he was mere moments away from death after he’d consumed the equivalent of four bags of heroin.
He relapsed twice more after the incident before reaching out to the veteran British singer for guidance.
In the book, biographer Anthony Bozza explains that “as a fellow musical superstar with nearly 30 years of sobriety under his belt”, Elton was the perfect mentor to guide Eminem.
“The two started on a programme of weekly check-ins and grew very close,” Anthony says of the bond the musicians share.
The 72-year-old recently revealed that the pair have remained so close that the rapper gifted Elton and his husband, David Furnish (57), sex toys on their wedding day. “We’ve never used them,” Elton confessed. “They sit there, like the crown jewels, in this beautiful box on satin cushions. They’re wonderful to look at. They’re kind of sacrosanct. The fact they came from Eminem makes it even better.
“I call him up every couple of months, and every time he picks up the phone he says the same thing: ‘Hello, you old c**t, how are you?’ ”
‘I call him [Eminem] up every couple of months’ – ELTON JOHN