What happened to David Carradine? Kill Bill star's death explored as Eminem makes reference about the late actor in his new song

Marshall Mathers, aka Eminem, dropped the sequel to one of his most controversial tracks, Guilty Conscience from his 1999 album The Slim Shady LP. As the rapper unveiled the full tracklist for his 12th studio album, The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce), Guilty Conscience 2 has piqued fans' interest.

In one part of Verse 1, Marshall referred to actor David Carradine’s mysterious death as he rapped:

"Oh, b*tch, it's a joke/ No, it's not, it's embarrassing (What?)/ Like David Carradine found with a pair of jeans at his ankles and belt ''round his larynx"'

David Carradine, who played Kwai Chang in the TV series Kung Fu, and Bill in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill, passed away in Bangkok's Hotel Swissotel Nai Lert Park on June 3, 2009. His manager, Chuck Binder, said the actor was in Thailand filming his movie Stretch, which was released after his death in 2011.

According to the police, a chambermaid found a naked David hanging inside a closet on June 4, with a cord around his neck and his nether regions.

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David Carradine's mysterious death explored as Eminem makes reference in new track

Following the discovery of David Carradine's body, the Thai press initially claimed the actor had hanged himself. However, his agent told BBC it was “shocking” as David was “full of life” and always had a zeal for working.

The actor's cause of death was declared to be asphyxiation by New York-based coroner Dr. Michael Baden, who the family hired to perform a private autopsy. He told Reuters:

"The cause of death was asphyxiation, an inability to breathe, now, why that happened is still what we're working on."

Baden, who hosts the documentary series Autopsy on HBO, ruled out suicide due to the ligatures that bound David’s body. He explained:

"He didn't die of natural causes, and he didn't die of suicidal causes from the nature of the ligatures around the body, so that leaves some kind of accidental death."

While Michael Baden said David’s hands were above his head at the time of death, some media reports claimed the actor’s hands were tied with cords behind his back.

A grainy photo of David Carradine’s limp body suspended from a bar inside a closet raised more questions about the mysterious nature of his death. According to reports, the actor seemingly wore a wig and fishnet in the photo. Police reportedly said red women’s lingerie appeared to be on a nearby bed.

Although Thai authorities had suggested accidental autoerotic asphyxiation could be how David Carradine had died, some said the evidence did not add up correctly. Some questioned how the actor managed to tie his own hands if he had indulged in autoerotic activities. It was suggested that it did not appear to be a solo act, and there must have been someone with the actor during the act.

The incident that originally led to David Carradine's death remains a mystery to this day. However, Eminem has referred to how the actor's body was found in his 2020 track Almost Famous as well. There, in Verse 3 he rapped:

"They can go get a belt or a neck tie to hang themselves by/ Like David Carradine they can go f**k themselves and just die"

In Guilty Conscience 2, David Carradine's reference comes as Eminem engages in a back-and-forth with Slim Shady about their conscience. The 1999 track Guilty Conscience seemingly showcased Eminem and Dr Dre taking up the roles of the angel or good conscience and the devil or evil conscience on an individual’s shoulder.

At the time, fans took issue with certain parts of the lyrics being rapped from the devil’s point of view. One of these apparent references includes Dr Dre’s infamous physical assault on rapper Dee Barnes.

Thus, fans have been curious to deduce what Eminem aimed at with Guilty Conscience 2, as the essence of this latest album lies in Eminem confronting his younger alter-ego Slim Shady.