Eminem Assault Case Closed

Man who accused Eminem of beating him in the bathroom of a Detroit area strip club has decided to drop assault charges without explanation

By Josh Grossberg Jul 18, 2006 3:30 PMTags

Slim Shady is off the hook.

Days after Eminem was accused of attacking a man in the restroom of a Detroit nudie bar, the alleged victim has decided to drop assault charges without explanation, authorities confirmed.

"The case is now closed," a spokeswoman for the Detroit Police Department told E! Online Tuesday.

The hip-hop superstar, real name Marshall Mathers III, had been spending semi-retirement with his entourage late last Wednesday at the Cheetah Club located along Eight Mile Road when the supposed scuffle broke out.

The victim, who identified himself as Miad J., told local ABC affiliate WXYZ that the fight was triggered when another unidentified patron began chatting up Eminem in the restroom while the rapper was using the urinal. One of the hip-hopster's bodyguards warned the man not to talk to his boss, at which point, Miad J., who was also present, intervened and told the guard to go easy on the fan.

According to an account in the Detroit Free Press, Emimen's bodyguard then shoved Miad J. The 48-year-old attempted to leave, and that's when the rapper allegedly came out "swinging."

"Eminem got done and boom," Miad J. said. "I wasn't even expecting it. I was just minding my own business, taking a leak."

The 33-year-old entertainer and his crew fled the club following the incident. Eyewitnesses quoted in the Free Press said that another member of the posse, described as a longtime Eminem friend and protégé named Trick Trick, flashed a gun outside the club, but did not aim it at anyone.

A manager at the club confirmed a fight had gone down involving Eminem but declined to discuss specifics. Calls to the Grammy winner's publicist at Interscope Records, Dennis Dennehy, were not returned.

However, after police confirmed Monday that they were investigating the alleged altercation and seeking Eminem for questioning, Miad J. told them that he changed his mind and didn't want to pursue charges.

While Eminem won't have to face the music in this case, it's not his first brush with the law.

In 2000, Mathers was busted on a pair of gun-related charges. One involved a heated dispute with an associate of rap collective Insane Clown Posse. The other came when Eminem used an unloaded 9mm to threaten and then pistol-whip a man at a bar who allegedly kissed then wife Kim Mathers.

He subsequently cut a deal with prosecutors that saw him plead guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for two years probation and paying a $10,000 fine in lieu of jail time. Both experiences inspired the tracks "Soldier" and "The Kiss."

After remarrying his high school sweetheart last January, Eminem unexpectedly filed for divorce from Kim just three months later without giving a reason and the two are currently seeking joint custody of their 10-year-old daughter, Hailie Jade.

After announcing he was taking a break from recording, Eminem has stayed busy in the studio producing pal Obie Trice's sophomore album, Second Round's on Me, due out next month. He also recently agreed to star in a big-screen update of the classic TV western Have Gun Will Travel.