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Individuals turned to Twitter following Eminem's performance on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to both defend and express outrage over the rapper's flagrant use of the F-bomb at The Concert for Valor.
The Detroit rapper riddled his HBO-streamed performance with curse words at the concert aimed at supporting U.S. servicemen and women.
"Happy motherf***ing Veterans Day," Eminem shouted into the microphone.
Users on Twitter were quick to react, with some defending the rapper's use of profanity and others criticizing his word choice.
Turning off HBO after all the swearing coming out of EMINEM..they cld have put him on later..after kids like myself have gone to sleep
— Najat Dawaji (@NajatD) November 12, 2014Is there really a need for #Eminem to be swearing like an idiot at the #ConcertForValor ?
— Buff Jones (@buff1414) November 12, 2014I love how @Eminem keeps swearing at the DC event "happy mother f**king Veterans Day" #SoClassy......
— emmmm (@emilyfrancis02) November 12, 2014Pretty strange to hear Eminem swearing up a storm as the grand finale to thank our vets. So much anger and hostility is those F-bombs.
— Ace Hoffman (@AceHoffman) November 12, 2014Everybody complainin about @Eminem swearing at #ConcertForValor needs to chill out. Soldiers fight for his freedom of speech. #GetOverIt
— Tim Stroinski (@liltimmy323) November 12, 2014I think swearing would have really added to @Eminem 's performance...oh, never mind. #ConcertForValor#motherfuckingveteransday@mrjd1909
— Buff Jones (@buff1414) November 12, 2014With the gun shot effects, swearing, lyrics, I don't think Eminem was the best choice for #ConcertForValor...
— James (@VTjawo) November 12, 2014Who cares if he's swearing, Eminem is probably bringing the most energy #ConcertForValor
— Marc Pitarresi (@marc_pitarresi) November 12, 2014Hope everyone remembers more than Eminem swearing at the #ConcertForValor pretty sure someone knew he was not going to sugar coat his songs
— Pat Brough (@PatBrough) November 12, 2014Eminem drew outrage earlier Tuesday for a freestyle rap verse in which he said that he would punch singer Lana Del Ray in the face "like Ray Rice." The rapper was still seemingly given the go-ahead to perform, however, and not pulled from the evening concert.
The first-of-its-kind Concert for Valor, staged by HBO, Starbucks and Chase Corp., was intended to raise awareness for issues affecting veterans. While official crowd estimates were unavailable, organizers were expecting hundreds of thousands of people, making it one of the biggest events of the year on the Mall.
"What an amazing way to celebrate veterans on Veterans Day," said Jack Black, one of the concert's hosts.
While tickets were free, the celebrity hosts directed fans to ways they can volunteer or donate money to causes helping war veterans. Some in the audience said the gesture had symbolic importance.
The concert was televised live by HBO, which made its signal available to non-subscribers. Online streaming was also available. HBO chief executive Richard Plepler said it was possible that the concert could become an annual event.
This story has been updated with video. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Follow Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) on Twitter
