Eminem Sends Vivek Ramaswamy A Cease And Desist Letter, Asks Him To Stop Using His Songs On The Campaign Trail

Aspiring Republican presidential nominee Vivek Ramaswamy's college-era rap persona made a comeback during his campaign trail these past few weeks after he rapped Eminem's "Lose Yourself" during the Iowa State Fair, but Eminem doesn't seem to find Ramaswamy's antics amusing.

The rapper reportedly sent Ramaswamy a cease and desist letter barring him from using any of Eminem's music on the campaign trail.

The news comes two weeks after Ramaswamy's Iowa performance, which was met with mixed reviews from many internet onlookers.

Vivek Ramaswamy is performing Lose Yourself at the Iowa State Fair: pic.twitter.com/mCEMIfijZM

— Dylan Wells (@dylanewells) August 12, 2023

According to a letter sent by music licensor BMI to Ramaswamy's campaign lawyer, BMI had "received communications from Marshall B. Mathers, III, professionally known as Eminem, objecting to the Vivek Ramaswamy campaign's use of Eminem's musical compositions (the "Eminem Works") and requesting that BMI remove all Eminem Works from the Agreement."

But Iowa wasn't the first time Ramaswamy had invoked Eminem's words on stage either. After Politico reported on Ramaswamy's college rap alter ego "Da Vek," videos of the supposed performances put on my Ramaswamy while at Yale began to emerge on the internet.

Ramaswamy's campaign's official response to the cease and desist request has thus far been tame, with a spokesperson telling the Daily Mail, "Vivek just got on the stage and cut loose. To the American people's chagrin, we will have to leave the rapping to the real slim shady."

Ramaswamy echoed this sentiment on his X account as well, writing, "Will The REAL Slim Shady Please Stand Up? He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he? @Eminem."

Will The REAL Slim Shady Please Stand Up? He didn’t just say what I think he did, did he? @Eminem 😅 https://t.co/iOOuG6SU2D

— Vivek Ramaswamy (@VivekGRamaswamy) August 28, 2023