Eminem's on-screen rival Anthony Mackie reveals truth behind '8 Mile’' rap battle

When B-Rabbit torched Papa Doc in 8 Mile’s iconic final rap battle, it was actually Eminem taking shots at Anthony Mackie.

On the March 11 episode of Pivot Podcast, Mackie, 46, revealed that the now-iconic final rap battle in the 2002 film got a little too personal.

Eminem, 52, played aspiring rapper B-Rabbit, who demolishes Mackie’s character, Papa Doc, by exposing his privileged background. But as Mackie admitted, those bars weren’t just about his character — they were about him.

“We’re on set one day, and [Eminem] goes, ‘Yo, it don’t make sense we’re beefing,’” Mackie recalled.

To make their rivalry more authentic, Eminem asked for personal details about Mackie’s life. “We talked for like two hours,” the Captain America: Brave New World star said.

The next day, when Eminem started rapping, Mackie had a shocking realisation. “You’re talking about me, you’re not talking about Clarence!” he said, noting that his character’s private school background and happily married parents were lifted straight from his own life. 

“You’re an a******, Eminem!” Mackie joked. “I’m like, ‘I’m gonna fight this m***********! Yes, my parents are still married!’”

8 Mile marked Mackie’s film debut, just one year after he graduated from Juilliard. He later played Tupac in Notorious and Martin Luther King Jr. in HBO’s All the Way.

Looking back, Mackie credits his acting training for his career: “If I didn’t have my training, I wouldn’t be able to play Tupac, MLK, Papa Doc, Falcon.”