Detroit Lions superfan Eminem had a succinct reaction to the team’s star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson suffering a gnarly, likely season-ending injury.
“F–k,” the rapper, 51, shared via X.
Hutchinson, 24, was carted off the field on Sunday, October 13 during the Lions’ 47-9 blowout victory over the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
During the game’s third quarter, NFL sack leader Hutchinson suffered the injury while attempting to wrangle Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. Hutchinson’s lower left leg was crunched, causing him to collapse to the ground in pain.
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The injury was so gruesome that the Fox Sports broadcast, anchored by Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady, refused to show a replay.
On the morning of Monday, October 14, the Lions revealed Hutchinson had “undergone successful surgery to repair a fractured tibia and fibula” at Baylor White Medical Center in nearby Irving, Texas.
“Hutchinson will return to Detroit this week and is expected to make a full recovery,” the Lions posted via X. “There is no timeline for his return to play at this time.”
Eminem has long been vocal about his love for his hometown NFL squad, which recently included showing up to playoff games during the Lions’ run to the NFC Championship Game last season and appearing onstage at April’s NFL Draft in Detroit.
The rapper’s admiration for the Lions was on full display during an episode of HBO’s Hard Knocks in 2022, when Eminem visited the team’s practice facility and the site of Hutchinson’s viral performance of Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” which was shown on the series. When Eminem said he recognized the room from Hutchinson’s performance, Hutchinson couldn’t quite believe it.
“That’s crazy to me that Eminem even knows who I am and even knows my name,” he told Heavy after the episode aired. “It was wild looking at that clip.”
After Sunday’s game, Hutchinson’s coach and teammates discussed the injury to their Pro Bowl defensive star.
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“He’s a guy who’s part of the heartbeat of this team, a leader, does everything right, is a great teammate, is everything you want in a player and a teammate,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff told reporters. “To have him go down like that visibly upset is tough for all of us. He will be fine, he’s going to come back eventually, whenever that may be.”
During his postgame press conference, Lions head coach Dan Campbell was visibly upset about the turn of events. “Hate it for Hutch,” Campbell said.
“It was tough,” Campbell continued. “He’s in good hands right now. He’s being taken care of. He’ll stay back here, and obviously he’s going to be down a little while, so that’s tough, and it’s hard when you lose somebody like him. We’ll know a lot more after this and obviously wish him the best.”
The Lions return to action — without Hutchinson — on Sunday, October 20 against the Minnesota Vikings.
