Fans are disappointed with Eminem for promoting BetterHelp in “Somebody Save Me” video

Eminem premiered the new music video for “Somebody Save Me,” featuring Jelly Roll, third single from his new album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce) on YouTube yesterday.

The cut explores the Detroit hip-hop icon’s strained relationships while dealing with drug addiction, a heart-wrenching exploration of an alternate reality in which he died before his daughter Alaina’s graduation. “Alaina, I’ll be there in a minute, I promise,” Eminem raps in the somber track, which deals with heavy themes ranging from addiction to depression.

Then at the end of the music video comes a strange twist: an affiliate link promising a free month of therapy at BetterHelp, a mental health and online counseling services platform that has been embroiled in controversy for years now, as Polygon documented in detail back in 2018.

Unsurprisingly, many fans were left unimpressed by the inclusion. “I wish Em did more research on BetterHelp before advertising it, really not a good service,” one user wrote in a post on Reddit. “BetterHelp is terrible, sad to see that he’s advertising it,” another fan wrote. Someone said: “I don’t like betterhelp, the data selling is one problem (thankfully there are ways to prevent this) and their approach to commercialized therapy leaves a bad taste in my mouth. That being said, one free month for someone on the fence or someone who isn’t in a spot financially to take the risk of trying it out for the first time might not be such a bad thing. Do I wish it was more involved with a different service? sure, but also, this could still help a lot of people despite the bs with betterhelp. That being said, my suggestion? take the free month to familiarize yourself with the intake process and just to get a vibe of what it’s like, cancel the membership then go find yourself a real therapist, potentially one you can physically meet.”

BetterHelp’s track record has been called into question for years. Most notably last year, the Federal Trade Commission found that BetterHelp “broke its privacy promises,” handing over “sensitive health information through unavoidable prompts.” That’s despite promising its users that they can “rest assured” that “any information provided in this questionnaire will stay private between you and your counselor.”

According to the FTC, BetterHelp broke its confidentiality promises by selling health information of over seven million consumers to the likes of Facebook, Snapchat, and Pinterest for advertising purposes. In May, the embattled company agreed to pay $7.8 million to settle the regulator’s allegations, but has maintained that the move wasn’t an admission of wrongdoing. (Neither BetterHelp nor Eminem responded to a request for comment.)

The company offers relatively affordable online counseling sessions, often undercutting mainstream prices. Whether clients are getting quality mental health care, though, remains debatable. [VIA: Yeahoo.com]

Eminem Jelly Roll