Is the Lily Tran and Eminem Lose Yourself story real or fake? Viral poster child claim debunked

A post claiming Eminem and a girl named Lily Tran rapped Lose Yourself together on stage has gone viral after the latter got into Stanford University. It all began on Friday, August 15, 2025, when Facebook user @Mic Legends shared a post alleging the same.

Per the user, during a concert at Detroit's Ford Field, the Without Me hitmaker paused mid-verse after spotting a woman holding the sign:

"I got into Stanford. You said we’d rap."

The woman reportedly was Lily Tran, a former foster child who got a full scholarship to Stanford University. According to the post, Tran first met the musician at a meet-and-greet session backstage when she was just nine. She allegedly told him she wanted to "escape hardship through education and music." The musician promised her:

"When you get into college, if I’m still rapping, we’ll do a track together."

The Facebook post included a picture of Eminem hugging Tran. It continued:

"Today, they honored that promise. Together, they performed a stirring rendition of “Lose Yourself.” Lily’s voice wavered at first, but with every verse, her confidence soared, carrying the weight of years of struggle, hope, and determination."

Meanwhile, the emotional moment reportedly left the crowd cheering, and Eminem told her she not only kept her promise but also reminded him to keep his.

However, the post is fake, and the rapper did not sing Lose Yourself with Lily Tran. Lead Stories, citing several AI detection tools, relayed that the photo was AI-generated. Further, there have been no official news reports about the same.

Eminem is a father to 3 kids: Hailie Jade, Alaina, and Stevie

Eminem, real name Marshall Bruce Mathers III, is a musician regarded as one of the most influential rappers who broke down racial barriers in the hip-hop industry. The musician married Kimberly Anne Scott, whom he met in high school. They share a daughter, Hailie Jade. Marshall also adopted Kimberly's sister Dawn Scott's daughters, Alaina and Stevie. He doesn't have any other children.

A website called News published the story about the rapper and Lily Tran, titled, "A Promise Kept: Emiпem Stops Detroit Show to Rap with Former Foster Child Who Got Iпto Staпford..." Per the outlet, during the Detroit concert, Mathers was singing Till I Collapse, when 19-year-old Tran held up the sign.

He first met Tran during a charity meet-and-greet in Los Angeles. Quoting a fake interview with the rapper, the outlet wrote:

"She was so small, man, But she looked me dead in the eye and told me she wanted to get into a big university and use music to get her through the hard stuff. That stuck with me."

Eminem reportedly explained that it was when he made the promise to rap Lose Yourself with her.

During the concert, the rapper recognized Lily Tran, and the pair sang together. Tran, for her part, allegedly missed a beat initially. But the crowd continued to cheer for her, and she found her rhythm.

It is worth noting that Eminem is not the only celebrity that the fictional woman, Lily Tran, has been linked to. Similar stories surrounding singers like James Hetfield, Adam Lambert, George Strait, John Foster, and Morgan Wallen have been circulating online since last week.

Strait's variation of the story claimed that during a concert at the AT&T Stadium, he paused to perform I Cross My Heart together with Tran. Meanwhile, posts about John Foster stopping mid-song at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville to sing with Tran after she got into Stanford also circulated online.