Official Video for Eminem ft. Rihanna ‘Love the Way You Lie’

Hot on the heels of the announcement that he’s been nominated 8 times at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, Eminem has just dropped the much-anticipated video for his collaboration with pop star Rihanna, the best-selling second single off “Recovery,” “Love the Way You Lie.” Directed by Joseph Kahn, the video also stars Dominic Monaghan and Megan Fox, who play Eminem himself and his ex-wife Kim in a bid at depicting an abusive relationship – and just how destructive it can be.

The concept of the video is obviously the same with the idea of the song. It tells the story of two people who meet, fall in love and then cause their romance to crumble apart because of their anger issues, a topic that both Eminem and Rihanna are all too familiar with. The message that the vid is trying to drive home is that an abusive relationship remains just that, an abusive relationship, despite the love declarations – and should be ended before it’s too late.

Speaking with MTV News the other day, Monaghan underlined that all four (he, Megan, Eminem and Rihanna) specifically set out to paint a faithful picture of an abusive relationship without glorifying it. The fire that consumes Em and the two lovers at the end of the clip is illustrative in the sense that all should have known better than to allow their anger to consume them – and those they thought they loved the most. In fact, Megan Fox was so dedicated at making a valid point that she even pledged the money she got for her appearance to the Sojourn House, a shelter for abused women and their children.

“I think we tried as hard as we could to not glorify the violence, to try and explain that this was a relationship that is by no means ideal and a relationship that probably should have ended a lot sooner than it did. The concept of ‘Love the Way You Lie’ was essentially a look at the relationship that Eminem was in with his wife, Kim, so I kind of felt like I was playing Eminem a little bit, and Megan Fox was kind of playing Kim,” Monaghan says of the video.

“It’s the story of them getting to know each other, and it’s the story of their tumultuous relationship, and it was the story of the breakdown of their relationship. Ultimately, what I think he’s trying to say in the song... is that he should have walked away a little bit quicker than he did and not let it get as messy as it did. All his motivation, every forward step that he takes is based on his anger. We’re supposed to be desperately in love, like Bonnie and Clyde style, like Sid and Nancy, John and Yoko... Eminem and Kim,” the actor explains for MTV.

Below is the official video for “Love the Way You Lie” from Eminem and Rihanna. *Discretion is strongly recommended for strong and violent imagery, and graphic language. 

Follow me on Twitter @ElenaGorgan