A darling of the lefty entertainment establishment has taken a prosthetic nose dive into hot water. At Macklemore’s May 16 Seattle performance at the opening of “Spectacle: The Music Video,” the rapper lionized for his pro-gay stance appeared on stage in a stereotypical Jewish costume, singing his hit, “Thrift Shop.”
Bad move for a guy celebrated for injecting “tolerance and acceptance and equal rights” into hip hop.
Receiving heat for his anti-semitic stunt, Macklemore first took to twitter to protest, “A fake witches nose, wig, and beard = random costume. Not my idea of a stereotype of anybody.” Actor and comedian Seth Rogen didn’t buy it: “@macklemore really?? Because if I told someone to put together an anti Semitic Jew costume, they’d have that exact shopping list.”
Twitter flooded with similar black-lash accusing the rapper for being a hypocrite, a typical tweetreading, “Check out @macklemore performing “Thrift Shop” as a stereotypical Jewish man. So much for same love, eh?”
The criticism is appropriate, given the lyrics of ‘Same Love’ compares opposition to the gay agenda to racism:
“It’s the same hate that's caused wars from religion
Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment
The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins
It’s human rights for everybody, there is no difference!”
On May 19th, Macklemore wrote a formal apology on his website, attempting to defend his antics by claiming his disguise was sensationalized, indirectly accusing the outraged public of simply being dramatic, “... it was surprising and disappointing that the images of a disguise were sensationalized leading to the immediate assertion that my costume was anti-Semetic(sic).” Ultimately, the rapper admitted his blunder was due to sheer ignorance, “... unfortunately at the time I did not foresee the costume to be viewed in such regard.”
His apology was accepted by the Anti-Defamation League, who according to CNN said, “We take him at his word that he did not have any ill intent and unreservedly accept his apology.”
CNN concluded its own report of Macklemore’s anti-semitic costume with excerpts from his apology, focusing on the positivity of the rapper’s own claim to have “respect all cultures and all people,” and to “love human beings” and to humorously depart from the scandal, how Macklemore just “happen(s) to love a weird outfit from time to time."
CNN’s Chris Cuomo thought the world of Macklemore for his gay rights activism, ironically commending the rapper for his “social consciousness.” A few months prior to his appraisal, Cuomo eagerly accused Bill Donahue, a conservative Catholic, for anti-semitic remarks. Cuomo has made no comment on Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop” performance.
Would CNN be so forgiving to a conservative singer for such an outrageously racist stunt? Embracing the gay agenda can buy a lot of forgiveness these days.
