Unexpected twist, actor Haley Joel Osment found himself in the middle of one of the year’s most talked-about rap feuds between Kendrick Lamar and Drake. The Oscar-nominated actor, known for his roles in The Sixth Sense and A.I. Artificial Intelligence, was referenced by Lamar in his diss track “Euphoria.” However, there was a catch—Lamar mistakenly referred to Osment as megachurch pastor Joel Osteen, a mix-up that has sparked a wave of speculation and intrigue.
Osment, who was shooting his latest film “Blink Twice” in Ireland when the track dropped, received a flurry of messages in the middle of the night, leaving him puzzled. “I got like a hundred texts in the middle of the night,” Osment shared in a red carpet interview with The Associated Press. “And I was like, ‘What is going on?’”
Despite the apparent name confusion, Osment isn’t taking it personally. Instead, he believes the mix-up was intentional, a theory that aligns with Lamar’s reputation for precision in his lyrics. “I think that it’s an intentional scrambling of my name and that other guy’s name because Kendrick’s too precise to just make a mistake like that,” Osment explained.
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The feud between Lamar and Drake has been simmering for years, with both artists throwing subtle jabs at each other. However, the rivalry reached a new peak when Drake released “Taylor Made Freestyle” in April, using AI-generated voices of rap legends Snoop Dogg and Tupac Shakur to take shots at Lamar. Lamar responded swiftly with “Euphoria,” where he rapped, “Am I battlin’ ghost or AI / Ni**a feelin’ like Joel Osteen / Funny, he was in a film called ‘A.I.’ / And my sixth sense tellin’ me to off him.”
The lyrics reference Osment’s roles in the 2001 film A.I. Artificial Intelligence and the 1999 hit The Sixth Sense, in which Osment delivered the iconic line, “I see dead people.” Lamar even incorporated this line into his follow-up diss track, “Not Like Us,” further solidifying Osment’s unexpected role in the rap battle.
While some fans initially saw Lamar’s reference to Osteen as a mistake, others argue it was a deliberate move to draw a parallel between Drake’s perceived opportunism and Osteen’s public persona. The line has since fueled debates among fans and critics alike.
Lamar has largely been declared the winner of the feud, with “Not Like Us” becoming the most-streamed diss track on Spotify. As the dust settles, Osment’s unexpected cameo in the lyrical showdown serves as a reminder of Lamar’s skillful wordplay and the cultural impact of these high-profile rap battles.
In a feud marked by AI, ghostly references, and clever wordplay, Haley Joel Osment’s name—intentional or not—has become part of the narrative, adding yet another layer to this ongoing musical rivalry.
