New Count Alleges Eminem Brandished a Gun

Best-selling rapper Eminem was charged with more weapon counts Thursday, this time for allegedly brandishing a gun in a confrontation with a member of the rival group Insane Clown Posse.

“I think this is probably good publicity for him,” Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca said. “Maybe among those in the rapper world, this might be a badge of honor.”

Eminem publicist Paul Rosenberg rejected that claim as “ridiculous.”

“He can’t rewrite history,” Rosenberg said Thursday. “But I’m sure he wishes what happened Saturday night and Sunday morning never happened.”

The latest accusations came a day after the 27-year-old Grammy winner, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and assault with a deadly weapon, both felonies.

Those charges relate to a fight that broke out early Sunday after Eminem allegedly saw another man kissing his wife, Kimberly Mathers, 25, outside a nightclub in Warren, a Detroit suburb. Prosecutors said Eminem hit the man over the head with an unloaded gun.

According to the new charges, Eminem also got in a dispute Saturday with Douglas Dail of Insane Clown Posse outside a stereo shop in Royal Oak.

Gorcyca said Eminem and Dail exchanged words before Eminem stepped from his car and pulled a pistol. Eminem did not point the gun directly at Dail but threatened him, Gorcyca said.

Eminem was charged with felony possession of a concealed weapon and misdemeanor brandishing of a firearm.

When questioned Thursday by police, Eminem admitted displaying the unloaded gun, officials said. For reasons unclear, however, Dail has recanted his initial statement to police and “refuses to cooperate.”

Eminem later Thursday was freed after posting $1,000 of his $10,000 bond and was driven off in a sport-utility vehicle, waving once to a handful of young, mostly female fans who screamed as he sped away.