Rapper Macklemore is speaking out after uttering an anti-America remark during a live performance that got him dropped as a headliner for an upcoming music festival.
The remark came while the 41-year-old was performing his new song “Hind’s Hall 2″ at Seattle’s Palestine Will Live Forever Festival on Sept. 21.
“Straight up, say it, I’m not gonna stop you,” Macklemore told the crowd, according to a video posted to X Sept. 22. “I’m not gonna stop you … yeah, (expletive) America.”
The “Can’t Hold Us” rapper was then removed as a headliner for the inaugural Neon City Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is scheduled for Nov. 22-24.
The festival, which originally announced Macklemore as a headliner on Sept. 19, said on Instagram on Tuesday that the rapper “will no longer be performing due to unforeseen circumstances.”
Other headliners Alison Wonderland, Neon Trees, Russell Dickerson and Seven Lions are still expected to perform.
Macklemore then released a statement on Instagram on Wednesday explaining how the “(expletive) America” comment was directed toward lawmakers.
The “Thrift Shop” rapper started by acknowledging that his “thoughts and feelings are not always expressed perfectly or politely,” and that his Seattle performance “was one of those times.”
“Unfortunately, the historic event in my hometown that brought thousands of people together to raise awareness and money for the people of Palestine has become overshadowed by two words,” Macklemore wrote. “I wish I had been in a better place with my grief and anger. But the truth is I’m not ok. I haven’t been.”
“I have been in utter disbelief with how our government is showing up at this moment in history,” wrote the rapper, who has been an avid supporter of Palestine and has criticized U.S. leaders for supporting Israel.
“Some days I wake up, see another couple billion dollars given to Israel, or another refugee encampment destroyed, or a father holding a limb from his martyred child, or another speech from a politician justifying the right of Israel to ‘defend itself’ while denying Palestinians the right to exist, and I say to myself … ‘(expletive) — America,’” Macklemore wrote.
The rapper then said the expletive he used should not get misconstrued for the word “hate.”
“It’s different to be angry than to disown,” Macklemore wrote. “My ‘(expletive)’ — my anger — is rooted not in distain (sic) for where I was born but in anguish for how we can collectively allow this to continue. It is not directed at the people that make up our country, but toward our government who refuse to listen to us.”
Macklemore also acknowledged that he has “slipped in front of the world before,” and that he’s sure it’ll happen again.
“I’ve lost endorsements, I’ve lost shows, I’ve lost business ties. I am still here, unwavering in my support for a Free Palestine,” the rapper wrote. “I care about humanity and this earth too much to turn back now.”
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Publish date : 2024-09-27 03:20:00
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