The Internet has taken to task for dressing up as what some are calling an offensive caricature of a Jewish man. In a performance for the opening of an exhibit at the EMP Museum in Seattle over the weekend, Macklemore appeared wearing a wig and hooked nose.
Twitter lashed out at the rapper, saying the costume furthered racist stereotypes:
Check out performing “Thrift Shop” as a stereotypical Jewish man. So much for same love, eh?
— Ian de Borja (@idb1204)
And another…
want to lose your faith in humanity? macklemore wore a jewish stereotype costume to a concert: via
— jay, deadpan snarker (@jaythenerdkid)
And more…
., first you trick people into thinking you're a rapper, now you trick them into thinking you're Jewish?
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen)
Macklemore typically prides himself in being a progressive artist — dozens of same-sex couples were married during his Grammy performance of “Same Love.”
After the controversy picked up steam, Macklemore responded on Twitter:
A fake witches nose, wig, and beard = random costume. Not my idea of a stereotype of anybody.
— Macklemore (@macklemore)
Macklemore is no stranger to controversy this year. After sweeping this year’s hip-hop categories at the Grammy awards, he made headlines by posting a screenshot of a text he sent to Kendrick Lamar on Instagram apologizing for “robbing,” the fan favorite.
But here’s how :
“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.”
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Ru Johnson is an arts and culture music writer living in Denver. You can follow her on
