Was singer Macklemore mocking Jewish people on Friday night with a seemingly horribly offensive costume donned while performing “Thrift Shop?”
Macklemore is currently receiving a lot of backlash for the strange display and many are pointing out that the rapper behind the tolerance-promoting song “Same Love” may have been… well, slightly hypocritical.
The controversy got a bit of a boost from star Seth Rogen, who called Macklemore out on Twitter with this somewhat epic burn:
. @macklemore , first you trick people into thinking you’re a rapper, now you trick them into thinking you’re Jewish? pic.twitter.com/3rtaE4GHje
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) May 18, 2014
Commenters chimed in, explaining:
@MarinerMisery A grown man dressing as a stereotypical jew and performing a song about being cheap is extremely anti semitic
— Clara (@ClaraSupreme) May 19, 2014
@MarinerMisery @ClaraSupreme so if he wore black face it wouldn’t be offensive it’d be just a joke?
— Rob Decembrino Jr (@Robbie_Doo2827) May 19, 2014
As the controversy raged, Gawker pointed out that Macklemore has publicly admitted being a “9/11 truther,” adding :
“All of which is to say that Macklemore picking a costume that happens to be a deeply racist caricature isn’t really all that surprising given his history of being an idiot. On a related note, here is his explanation of the costume…”
Macklemore responded to the back and forth on Twitter, bizarrely denying the impression — even if inadvertent — of Jew hating mockery. The Seattle rapper responded:
A fake witches nose, wig, and beard = random costume. Not my idea of a stereotype of anybody.
— Macklemore (@macklemore) May 19, 2014
However, it’s difficult to work out what else Macklemore might have been going for when planning the costume — which, again, was worn for a performance of “Thrift Shop.”
Part of the controversy seems to center around the initial lack of reporting on what appears to be a pretty big cultural faux pas. While Macklemore has since insisted he meant to disrespect to Jews during the performance, many have also pointed out that intent is only a small part of the offensive act.
The Daily Dot speculates :
“You can check out a full gallery of close-up concert photos from KOMO News over here. Just don’t expect them to reveal why this happened, or whether anyone in attendance was significantly offended. Could it be that no one in a city famed for its political correctness wanted to bother with backlash? If so, this weirdo is far more powerful than we feared.”
Do you think there’s any reasonable explanation for Macklemore’s costume, other than making fun of Jewish stereotypes?
[Image Via Seattle Times Twitter]
