Rapper Macklemore, reeling from accusations his recent choice of stage costume smacked of anti-Semitism, took to his blog Monday to defend his actions.
Everyone from comic actor Seth Rogen to the liberal-leaning Daily Beast savaged Macklemore for his stunt.
The trouble began when the rapper took the stage in Seattle Friday night wearing a fake nose, beard and hair. The look resembled an ugly Jewish stereotype given the nose’s hook and the dark facial hair and wig.
The rapper claimed he wanted to don a disguise for his Seattle show to “walk around unnoticed and surprise the crowd with a short performance.” The costume in question, which he says came from a gaggle of props he picked up from a trip to Japan, hardly would help him blend in.
Here’s Macklemore describing why he chose those particular items:
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 … The character I dressed up as on Friday had no intended cultural identity or background. I wasn’t attempting to mimic any culture, nor resemble one. A “Jewish stereotype” never crossed my mind.
He says he understands how some people could connect his costume with a Jewish stereotype but he insists that wasn’t his intention.
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. I truly apologize to anybody that I may have offended.