Haley Joel Osment, the actor best known for his roles in The Sixth Sense and A.I. Artificial Intelligence, recently addressed Kendrick Lamar’s reference to him in the diss track "Euphoria," where Lamar mistakenly refers to him as "Joel Osteen." In an interview with the Associated Press, Osment speculated that the mix-up was intentional, saying, "I don’t know for sure, and I’m not gonna assume that he knows my exact name, but... I think that it’s an intentional scrambling of my name and that other guy’s name." He added, "Kendrick’s too precise to just make a mistake like that, I think."
Lamar’s "Euphoria," released in April, was the first of four diss tracks aimed at Drake in response to Drake’s "Taylor Made Freestyle." In the track, Lamar raps, "Am I battlin' ghost or AI? / N---- feelin' like Joel Osteen / Funny, he was in a film called A.I. / And my sixth sense tellin' me to off him." According to Genius.com, the reference could be a play on the idea that Lamar does not know who he is truly battling, with the mix-up between Osteen and Osment adding a layer of ambiguity.
Osment’s take on the reference aligns with the interpretation offered by Genius.com, which suggests that Lamar’s wordplay could be intentional, given Osment’s iconic line "I see dead people" in The Sixth Sense and the ongoing theme of battling "ghosts" in the rap feud. Whether intentional or not, the reference has sparked discussion among fans and critics alike.
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