Eminem sent an important message to Hollywood after the tragic death of his 8 Mile co-star.
Brittany Murphy starred as Alex in the 2002 film 8 Mile alongside the rapper, as well as movies such as Clueless, Just Married and Uptown Girls.
8 Mile picked up various nominations and awards as it featured a quadruple platinum soundtrack and autobiographical elements of the ‘Without You’ rapper’s life.
Less than 10 years after the iconic film premiered, Murphy died.
It came as a huge shock to many when the actor and singer died on 20 December 2009 at the age of 32.
After her death, Los Angeles County coroner concluded Murphy died as a result of pneumonia combined with anaemia and ‘multiple drug intoxication’ from prescription and over-the-counter medication.
In August 2010, Eminem appeared on the cover of Vibe with Dr. Dre and spoke to the magazine of the tragic death of his 8 Mile co-star.
The rapper said: “It was crazy. It’s crazy, because at one point, we were very close, and she was a really good person.”
He then issued a very important message to his peers in the industry: “It’s crazy when you see things not just with her but just all these things that are happening in Hollywood with people in music, with people in acting. … Famous people.
“Famous people are overdosing at alarming rates and — that almost sounded like a commercial. Wow.”
Eminem continued: “But they are. And it’s one of those things, man, where you’re famous, doctors will kiss your ass because they love the celebrity. ‘Oh, I can call up Eminem and get him on the phone right now. Oh, hi Marshall, how are you doing? Do you need that [prescription]?’
“There are doctors that will give you certain things just because of who you are.”
There have been rumours over the years since Murphy died from an overdose and the coroner’s assistant told PEOPLE at the time that no illegal drugs were found in her system, ‘only prescription and over-the-counter meds’.
Chief Ed Winter also added that Murphy could have still been alive if she’d seen a doctor sooner.
“Murphy was planning on seeing a doctor, but she, unfortunately, passed away before she did. This was a case of a person with pneumonia who was anaemic and was taking medication when she should’ve been getting medical treatment.”
Eminem has had his own battles with drug addiction and suffered a near-fatal overdose in 2007.
