Actor Anthony Mackie recently appeared on The Pivot Podcast, where he reflected on his experience playing Clarence in the 2002 classic 8 Mile—a role that became legendary after Eminem's character publicly roasted him in a rap battle.
Mackie laughed about the infamous scene, where Eminem's character, B-Rabbit, calls out Clarence for coming from a privileged background, attending a private school, and having both parents still together. He pointed out that the school mentioned in the film, Cranbrook, is actually an incredibly prestigious private school—a detail that made the diss even funnier.
However, Mackie revealed that Eminem took things a step further when filming their battle scene. He shared that the day before shooting, Eminem wanted to get to know him better to fuel their on-screen "beef." The two had a conversation, and later that night, Mackie decided to hit the casino.
The next day, while filming the rap battle, Mackie suddenly realized Eminem was roasting him—not Clarence.
"I'm standing there, and I'm like, wait a minute… that has nothing to do with the character! You're an a**hole, Eminem!" Mackie joked.
Even decades later, the moment remains one of the most iconic scenes in 8 Mile—and now, fans know that some of Eminem’s bars hit even closer to home than we thought.
Source: YouTube
