SEATTLE — Macklemore has landed in hot water over comments he made at the Palestine Will Live Forever benefit concert held in Seattle last Saturday.
A 16-second video posted by a social media user affiliated with a right-wing website showed the Seattle rapper addressing the Seward Park Amphitheater crowd.
“Straight up, say it. I’m not gonna stop you. I’m not gonna stop you. Yeah, F— America,” he told the audience.
The backlash surrounding the viral video led to a Las Vegas music festival dropping Macklemore from the bill. The Seattle Kraken and Sounders, teams in which the real-life Ben Haggerty owns a minority stake, issued a joint statement saying the franchises are “evaluating our collective options on this matter.”
Macklemore broke his silence Wednesday with a lengthy statement, posted on Instagram, clarifying his remarks.
“My thoughts and feelings are not always expressed perfectly or politely,” began the statement, which you can read in full below. “Sometimes I slip up and get caught in the moment. Saturday night was one of those times.”
The 41-year-old rapper expressed regret that the event “rooted in peace, love and solidarity” had become “overshadowed by two words.” He went on to clarify that his anger was directed at the American government for its continued support of Israel, whose attacks on Hamas have killed thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. .
“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…. ‘F— America,’” Macklemore wrote. “I don’t think I’m alone. But do not misconstrue the word ‘f—’ for the word ‘hate.’ It’s different to be angry than to disown.”
Saturday’s Palestine Will Live Forever concert featured speakers and performances from a number of hip-hop luminaries from Seattle and beyond, including Khingz, K-Salaam, Rell Be Free, Native Guns, Nikkita Oliver, author Ijeoma Oluo, and Gabriel Teodros, who helped organize the event.
Macklemore came up in Seattle’s socially conscious hip-hop community, where social activism is deeply ingrained. His outspokenness on social issues like same-sex marriage, particularly with one of his earliest hits “Same Love” — recorded during the push to legalize same-sex marriage in Washington — is inextricable from his rise to stardom. At times, his comments and perceived missteps have drawn criticism from both ends of the political spectrum.
This spring Macklemore released the protest song “Hind’s Hall,” voicing support for pro-Palestinian protesters and calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war. Days before his appearance at Saturday’s benefit concert, he released a sequel, “Hind’s Hall 2,” featuring Anees, MC Abdul and Amer Zahr.
