Eminem is donating the proceeds from his recent breach of copyright lawsuit to hurricane relief efforts.
Lawyers for the American rapper’s publishing firm Eight Mile Style filed a lawsuit against staff at New Zealand’s National Party staff three years ago, accusing them of using an unlicensed version of his 2002 hit Lose Yourself in TV adverts for former leader John Key’s re-election campaign in 2014.
Lawmakers have found the defendants guilty of copyright infringement and they awarded the rapper $412,000 (£313,000) in damages on Wednesday. However, a representative for Eminem explains he was not involved with the lawsuit and he will be giving the judgment cash to hurricane relief organisations, according to Variety.com.
“Eminem was not a party to this lawsuit nor was he consulted regarding the case,” a representative says. “Any monetary settlement he receives from it will be donated to hurricane relief.”
Eminem has been active in hurricane relief efforts and he recently joined forces with bosses at Detroit, Michigan-based e-commerce firm StockX to set up a new fundraising effort benefiting those affected by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas and Hurricane Irma, which ravaged the Caribbean and parts of Florida.
The hip-hop star wants fans to donate $10 (£8) or more to the StockX-Eminem Hurricane Relief Fund, for which he will match up to $250,000 (£190,000).
As an added incentive, those who participate in the charity drive will be entered into a raffle to win special sneakers donated by celebrities including Eminem, Mark Wahlberg, Pharrell Williams, Snoop Dogg, and basketball superstars LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
