The feud between Eminem and the Insane Clown Posse appears to have led to another violent incident, this time involving a road manager for the Clowns and an Eminem fan in Nebraska.
The road manager, William Dail, allegedly choked the Eminem fan until he blacked out after the clown-faced rappers’ show in Omaha on Tuesday, May 8, police said.
Dail admits to holding 23-year-old Thomas P. Goonan by his neck and throwing him against a wall but denies the fan lost consciousness. He said Goonan was disrespecting the Detroit duo by waving a T-shirt emblazed with rival rapper Eminem’s image and throwing M&M candy at the stage during the ICP’s performance at the city’s Ranch Bowl.
“You don’t come into our home and disrespect us like that,” Dail said Thursday, May 10.
Dail was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery and released on $1,000 bail, according to Sgt. Dan Cisar, an Omaha police spokesperson. Dail, who is due back in court later this month, is the brother of Douglas Dail, the ICP employee Eminem allegedly pulled a gun on last June in Royal Oak, Mich.
After Goonan was escorted outside the venue, Dail threw him into a fence barricade, grabbed him by the throat, and choked him into unconsciousness, Cisar said.
“My intentions were to get him out of the room … When he tried to fight me, it was my intention to hurt him,” Dail said. “I grabbed him by the neck … and threw him against the wall.”
Dail said he did not regret his actions.
“We encourage this type of activity,” ICP manager Alex Abbiss said from his office. The charges will not affect Dail’s employment with the group, he said.
Goonan had red marks around his throat when police arrived, but his injuries were minor, Cisar said. Goonan claims he “completely blacked out.”
The Eminem fan said on Thursday that he realized his actions might upset the crowd. “I assumed that they wouldn’t be happy, but I didn’t think it would get that out of hand,” he said. “I can see them throwing me out, but choking?”
ICP’s Island Records publicist had no comment.
Eminem and Insane Clown Posse, who are both from the Detroit area, have traded barbs on their albums and repeatedly dissed each other onstage and in the press.
Eminem’s Marshall Mathers LP features an explicit skit depicting the ICP rappers as homosexual. During last summer’s Up in Smoke tour, Eminem brought two blow-up dolls with painted faces on stage and simulated them performing sexual acts on each other.
ICP have recorded the songs “Slim Anus” and “Nothing but a Bitch Thing” dissing Eminem, and claim Slim Shady was one of their biggest fans back in the day.
Two weeks ago, Eminem pleaded no contest to felony weapons charges in the incident involving Douglas Dail. He is scheduled to be sentenced June 5.