Rapper Macklemore has gone on record to apologise for the costume he wore at a recent San Francisco show, which was criticised by many as anti-Semitic, and earned him our coveted ‘Fuckwit Of The Day’ award. He addressed the recent headlines in a lengthy post on his website, writing:
“Family, friends and fans alike who know me well, know that I’m absolutely not the person described in certain headlines today. There is no worse feeling than being misunderstood, especially when people are hurt or offended.
On Friday night we had a surprise show at the EMP Museum in Seattle. Earlier in the day I thought it would be fun to dress up in a disguise and go incognito to the event, so that I could walk around unnoticed and surprise the crowd with a short performance. I picked up a bunch of fake mustaches and beards and grabbed a left over wig from our recent trip to Japan.
As it turns out the fake noses they sell at the costume store are usually big (my nose didn’t fit most of them). So I ended up with a big witch nose. I went with a black beard, because that’s the furthest color from my natural hair. Disguise was the intention. I personally thought I looked very ambiguous in terms of any “type” of person. Some people there thought I looked like Ringo, some Abe Lincoln. If anything I thought I looked like Humpty Hump with a bowl cut.”
He went on to say that his intention was nothing more than to dress up and surprise people at the show. “I acknowledge how the costume could, within a context of stereotyping, be ascribed to a Jewish caricature,” he said. “I am here to say that it was 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.”
“I truly apologize to anybody that I may have offended,” he concluded. “I hope this better explains the situation and my point of view.” As of press time, Macklemore has not apologised for ‘Thrift Shop’.
