Macklemore Apologizes for Performing in Offensive Costume
Rapper Macklemore has posted an apology on his website, explaining that he didn't mean to mock Jewish people by wearing a costume that some considered anti-Semitic during a performance last week in Seattle.
In the message posted late Monday, he wrote that he randomly chose the pieces of his costume at Friday's performance so that he could disguise himself and move freely around during the secret show. He denied it was meant to be a caricature of a Jewish man.
"Family, friends and fans alike who know me well, know that I'm absolutely not the person described in certain headlines today," he wrote. "There is no worse feeling than being misunderstood, especially when people are hurt or offended."
He added: "I respect all cultures and all people. I would never intentionally put down anybody for the fabric that makes them who they are. I love human beings, love originality, and ... happen to love a weird outfit from time to time."
He also tweeted:
A fake witches nose, wig, and beard = random costume. Not my idea of a stereotype of anybody.
— Macklemore (@macklemore) May 19, 2014Grammy Award winners Macklemore & Ryan Lewis made the appearance at the EMP Museum in their hometown to help celebrate the debut of a new exhibition. Photos from the concert show Macklemore wearing a black wig and beard and a fake hooked nose. Macklemore and Lewis gained widespread fame with a message supporting diversity, and their hit song One Love calls for tolerance and support for members of the gay community.
Macklemore said he understood his detractors' point of view. "I acknowledge how the costume could, within a context of stereotyping, be ascribed to a Jewish caricature," he wrote. "I am here to say that it was not absolutely not my intention, and unfortunately at the time I did not foresee the costume to be viewed in such regard. I'm saddened that this story, or any of my choices, would lead to any form of negativity."