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Eminem gave his day-one "stans" a surprise they'll never forget.
An army of Eminem's fans gathered on The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City on Wednesday night, August 6, to catch the debut of the rapper's documentary, Stans. As his 2000 hit "Stan" blared through the speakers, Eminem unexpectedly appeared at the premiere to roars of cheers from excited fans.
"Let me tell you why this s**t is crazy to me," Eminem told the crowd during an emotional speech. "When I was writing this song, I didn't understand the impact that my music was having on people at the time."
WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
"It was really surreal to me, and it's still surreal to this day, to look out here and see all you and the fact that my music has inspired you," he continued. "This film is a 'thank you' to all of you... This is my 'thank you' to all of you for sticking by me for this whole f**king time. Through all my s**t, through all my bulls**t, all my f**king mediocre s**t, the good s**t, the bad s**t, all of it. This film is dedicated to y'all and I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart."
According to Variety, the film is a βrevealing, edgy, and disarmingly personal journey into the world of superfandom, told through the lens of one of the worldβs most iconic and enduring artists, Eminem, and the fans that worship him.β Eminem serves as a co-producer through his Shady Films company, while Steven Leckart directed the film.
Stans was clearly inspired by his smash hit from his 2000 album The Marshall Mathers LP. The original "stan" Devon Sawa, who starred in the iconic music video for the song, also attended the event and judged the "stan" look-alike contest. He even recognized the song's 25th anniversary with a touching post on Instagram.
"25 years ago I worked with one of the greatest musicians of all time," he wrote. "Today he met my son. What a ride."
Stans arrives in theaters around the country this Friday. Check out the trailer and more scenes from the world premiere below.