Not so fast, LATimes.com scribe Tom O’Neil …

O’Neil suggests that “The stunt only fuels old fears that (Eminem‘s) a secret homophobe.”

Now, there’s no defending some of Eminem’s lyrics . And, a good part of the humor from last night’s MTV Movie Awards stunt came from bare-butted Bruno plopping down on the prickly Eminem. But to assume that Eminem’s reaction, pre-planned or not, was homophobic, ignores the fact that most people:

… would not want to have Sacha Baron Cohen‘s sweaty, feather-covered body plopped heinie-first on their faces; and

… would not want to have said plop happen in front of a crowd, during an event that is being broadcast to millions of people.

So, not to put too fine a point on it, but … hot lights … crowded building … body swaddled in feathers … it all adds up to hot, sweaty mancakes. Is it really a stretch to assume that, like most people, Eminem wouldn’t welcome Sacha Baron Cohen’s sweaty, feather-covered body plopped heinie-first on their faces in front of a crowd, during an event that is being broadcast to millions of people?

Not to mention, it’s not like Eminem was uncharacteristically crabby in his reaction; remember when he freaked out on Triumph the Insult Comic Dog? That was just some dude with his hand stuck up a puppet getting in his face. It’s not so hard to believe, or understand, why Baron’s bare butt – and some other body parts that were a little too close for comfort, oh by the way – might set him off when they landed In. His. Face.

Bottom (ha!) line: It was a crude, rather dumb, stunt. Funny as hell, and given the media coverage it sparked, also smartly planned (Mark Burnett, and Cohen, you mad geniuses!). But, still gross, and gross by most standards.

So, is Eminem homophobic? Maybe. But not because he didn’t want to go home reeking of Eau de Bruno Butt.

Agree?

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… or was he really surprised, and ticked off, when he got butt-faced (and junk-faced?) by Bruno (Sacha Baron Cohen) at last night’s MTV Movie Awards?

The rapper looked surprised, and angry, and Ryan Seacrest Tweeted last night that he had been told Eminem was definitely not privvy to the bit and immediately hightailed it out of the show with his bodyguards.

But check out the clip of the incident below. Sure, Slim Shady looks ticked off, but his bodyguards didn’t immediately react. Bruno actualy landed, butt-first, in Eminem’s face, but the bodyguards just sat there until Eminem, rather colorfully, requested that he be removed … so either he was in on the joke, or he might need to rethink his security detail and their reaction times.

Either way, funny stuff.

Or did you find the whole bit crude (and, given Eminem’s beef with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, and Howard Stern‘s butt-baring entrance as Fartman at the ’92 VMAs, totally unoriginal)?

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