Eminem has been accused of causing panic at one of his concerts by using realistic gunshot sounds but the rapper denied the claims, saying he had used a pyrotechnic concussion.
The 45-year-old artiste invited ire of admirers on social media when a sound effect which sounded like gunfire was used at the end of his 2000 song "Kill You" during the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival.
Footage from the show, which has gone viral on the social media, shows the audience members screaming and ducking for cover after hearing the sounds.
In a statement to People magazine, the spokesperson for the rapper rubbished the claims.
"Contrary to inaccurate reports, Eminem does not use gunshot sound effects during his live show. The effect used by Eminem in his set at Bonnaroo was a pyrotechnic concussion which creates a loud boom.
"He has used this effect - as have hundreds other artists - in his live show for over 10 years, including previous US festival dates in 2018 without complaint," the statement read.
Many of the concert-goers had taken to social media immediately after the show to criticise the musician for his insensitivity in an already gun-charged climate in the US, with last year's Las Vegas mass shooting being the recent example.
"Less than a year after Vegas and @Eminem thinks it's a good idea to blast gun shot sfx onstage at a music festival? Bad call on this headliner @bonnaroo. What happened to Radiate Positivity?" one person on Twitter said.
Another person slammed Eminem on the micro-blogging site: "I was having a good time at Eminem's set then he played a realistic gunshot noise. The whole crowd ducked and I've never felt more traumatized and ready to panic. Completely inappropriate (sic)."
Many said they decided to leave the gig after the sound was heard again.
Some social media users, however, defended the "Not Afraid" hitmaker's choice of using the gunshot sound, saying it was only a reflection on his growing up days.
"But haven't Eminem's songs always had gunshot sounds in them?" one tweeted.
"So apparently Eminem is performing at Bonnaroo right now and a bunch of younger people are losing their s**t because his set included realistic gunshot sound effects. I dunno what song(s) it was from, but it sounds to me like a bunch of people became Eminem fans post 2002," another user wrote.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)