text: Rapper Eminem performed at the Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee this weekend, causing panic among concertgoers when one of his songs ended with realistic gunshot sound effects. The hip-hop star’s decision to use the violent sound effects incited a backlash on social media, with many people saying the noises were inappropriate given the prevalence of mass shootings in the U.S. 
   
   In videos uploaded to social media, fans in the crowd can be heard screaming and seen ducking as the gunshot sounds go off at the end of the Eminem’s song “Kill you.” People criticized his decision, with some saying there should have been a warning if potentially traumatizing or triggering sound effects were going to be used. 
   
   Fans defended him on social media, pointing out that he has incorporated gunshot sound effects into his music many times before, including just one week ago at the Governor’s Ball Music Festival in New York City. 
   
   Others pointed out that Eminem wrote the song in 2002, prior to recent mass shootings and defended his choice to use the realistic effects. 
   
   The rapper’s spokesperson said in a statement to TIME: 
   
   “Contrary to inaccurate reports, Eminem does not use gunshot sound effects during his live show. The effect used by Eminem in his set at Bonnaroo was a pyrotechnic concussion which creates a loud boom. He has used this effect — as have hundreds other artists — in his live show for over 10 years, including previous US festival dates in 2018 without complaint.” ||||| Eminem performs on stage during the MTV EMAs 2017 held at The SSE Arena, Wembley on Nov. 12, 2017 in London. 
   
   Eminem is drawing criticism from festival-goers who were frightened and upset over the rapper's use of sound effects that to some fans resembled gunshots during his headlining performance at Bonnaroo Saturday night (June 9). 
   
   Many fans screamed and ducked as a series of loud blasts rang through the crowd during Eminem's performance of "Kill You," from his 2000 album, The Marshall Mathers LP. The nervous reaction arrives at a time when concert-goers are on edge following the deadly mass shooting at last year's Route 91 country music festival in Las Vegas. 
   
   But a spokesman for Eminem told Billboard in an email that "contrary to inaccurate reports, Eminem does not use gunshot sound effects during his live show. The effect used by Eminem in his set at Bonnaroo was a pyrotechnic concussion which creates a loud boom. He has used this effect - as have hundreds of other artists - in his live show for over 10 years, including previous U.S. festival dates, without complaint." 
   
   Social media star Andrea Russett was one of many in attendance at the Manchester, Tenn., festival who was traumatized by the sounds during Eminem's set. 
   
   "I hate to be the one to say it, but being someone who suffers from very mild PTSD, it was EXTREMELY irresponsible and distasteful to end songs w the shot gun sound effect," Russett tweeted. "I have grown up loving eminem and his music but i was extremely triggered to the point of tears." 
   
   She continued, "To hear a gun shot sound effect and see the entire crowd drop to the floor out of instinct is not funny, cute, or amusing. this is the sad reality that we are living. this is not funny or even something to be joked about." 
   
   Some fans came to Eminem's defense, noting that the hip-hop star has used the gunshot sound effects during past performances. 
   
   "Eminem has ended Kill You with the gun shot effects for (at least) 6 years now and this is the first time someone ever complains," one Twitter user pointed out. 
   
   See more reactions on social media below. 
   
   @AndreaRussett @sandwahhh @macykatemusic found this on instagram, the way everyone screams and the camera drops is terrifying pic.twitter.com/mZRwdqoWB4 — Sydney (@Sydneyheight1) June 10, 2018 
   
   i hate to be the one to say it, but being someone who suffers from very mild PTSD, it was EXTREMELY irresponsible and distasteful to end songs w the shot gun sound effect. i have grown up loving eminem and his music but i was extremely triggered to the point of tears. — Andrea Russett (@AndreaRussett) June 10, 2018 
   
   to hear a gun shot sound effect and see the entire crowd drop to the floor out of instinct is not funny, cute, or amusing. this is the sad reality that we are living. this is not funny or even something to be joked about. — Andrea Russett (@AndreaRussett) June 10, 2018 
   
   it just happened again. 3 times. we left the concert area and it still sounds so real from far away and everyone ducked again. we’re all shaking. NOT OKAY EMINEM. — red (@sandwahhh) June 10, 2018 
   
   i was having a good time at eminem’s set then he played a realistic gunshot noise. the whole crowd ducked and i’ve never felt more traumatized and ready to panic. completely inappropriate — red (@sandwahhh) June 10, 2018 
   
   doesn’t matter if eminem has had gun shot effects in the past, the crowd was actually scared and shaken up because of how actually realistic it is — red (@sandwahhh) June 10, 2018 
   
   Not for nothing this isn’t the first festival Eminem has performed this year. No one cared/complained about the gunshot sound effects until little miss princess andrea russett and her friend did. LMAO — babye (@gen_natt) June 10, 2018 
   
   If you can’t handle a sound of a gunshot, do not go to an Eminem concert Andrea Russett — Shay (@HerShayness) June 10, 2018 
   
   So apparently Eminem is performing at Bonnaroo right now and a bunch of younger people are losing their shit because his set included realistic gunshot sound effects. I dunno what song(s) it was from, but it sounds to me like a bunch of people became Eminem fans post 2002. — Trill Walton (@Mooque) June 10, 2018 
   
   are y’all really that mad at eminem over a song from 2002 that has a gun sound effect — j (@arcticsnessa) June 10, 2018 
   
   coming from a performing stand point, i get the effect of sound effects on stage, but there’s a certain point that cross’s the line. i’m one of eminem’s number 1 fans but to hear 3 gun shots coming straight from his set had me scared af. not gonna lie. especially in this world... — M (@macykatemusic) June 10, 2018 
   
   Honestly, fuck Eminem. Added gunshots to his set. Had to leave. So disgusting and distasteful. Shame on you. — Bella Lowery (@helloitsbella) June 10, 2018 ||||| UPDATE: A rep for Eminem gave E! News the following statement, "Contrary to inaccurate reports, Eminem does not use gunshot sound effects during his live show. The effect used by Eminem in his set at Bonnaroo was a pyrotechnic concussion creates a loud boom. He has used this effect—as have hundreds other artists—in his live show for over 10 years, including previous US festival dates in 2018 without complaint." 
   
   ______ 
   
   Some Eminem fans were left shaken by his performance at 2018 Bonnaroo music festival in Tennessee because they incorporated sound effects that sounded like gunshots, and the rapper was soon the target of an online backlash. 
   
   While many were quick to point out that his music and concerts have for years incorporated such sounds for years, his set on Saturday triggered panic among others, and later, debate about whether the effects are appropriate in a time when nerves are already frayed in wake of the 2016 Paris nightclub shooting, the 2017 massacre at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas and the 2017 bombing at Ariana Grande's Manchester concert. 
   
   "I hate to be the one to say it, but being someone who suffers from very mild PTSD, it was EXTREMELY irresponsible and distasteful to end songs w the shot gun sound effect. i have grown up loving Eminem and his music but I was extremely triggered to the point of tears," tweeted popular YouTube star Andrea Russett, 22. 
   
   "To hear a gun shot sound effect and see the entire crowd drop to the floor out of instinct is not funny, cute, or amusing," she continued. "This is the sad reality that we are living. this is not funny or even something to be joked about."
target: – Gunshot sound effects at an outdoor music festival, when memories of last year's Las Vegas concert massacre are still fresh, goes way beyond poor taste, critics told Eminem after his Saturday night set caused panic at the Bonnaroo festival in Tennessee. Witnesses say some fans screamed, ducked, or dropped to the ground after the sounds were heard at the end of "Kill You," Billboard reports. "I hate to be the one to say it, but being someone who suffers from very mild PTSD, it was EXTREMELY irresponsible and distasteful to end songs w the shot gun sound effect," tweeted social media star Andrea Russett. "To hear a gun shot sound effect and see the entire crowd drop to the floor out of instinct is not funny, cute, or amusing," she added, per E! Online. Critics said that after the killing of 58 people in last year's Las Vegas mass shooting and other deadly attacks on concerts, Eminem should at least have warned people there could be gunshot noises during his set. But plenty of fans came to the rapper's defense on social media, arguing that he has used similar sound effects without problems during countless other live performances, including at a New York City music festival just a week ago, Time reports. An Eminem rep said the noises weren't even gunshot effects. "Contrary to inaccurate reports, Eminem does not use gunshot sound effects during his live show. The effect used by Eminem in his set at Bonnaroo was a pyrotechnic concussion (that) creates a loud boom. He has used this effect—as have hundreds other artists—in his live show for over 10 years," a spokesperson said in a statement. (A body was found Friday at a Bonnaroo campsite.)