Macklemore addresses recently leading crowd in "Fuck America" chant
"Do not misconstrue the word 'fuck' for the word 'hate,'" the pro-Palestine rapper cautioned. "It's different to be angry than to disown."
Macklemore has issued a statement this week—bordering on, but not quite becoming, an apology—after leading a crowd at a show last Saturday in a “Fuck America” chant in protest of the United States’ support of Israel during the current violence in Gaza. “My thoughts and feelings are not always expressed perfectly or politely,” the rapper wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “Sometimes I slip up and get caught in the moment.”
Macklemore was referencing a performance he gave on September 21 at Seattle’s Palestine Will Live Forever festival, where he reportedly led the crowd in chanting “Fuck America.” Backlash over the comments/chant has caused the “Thrift Shop” rapper to come under criticism, and to be dropped from Las Vegas’ upcoming Neon City Festival in November. Writing further about his feelings about the Seattle event, Macklemore expressed his regret that “The historic event in my hometown that brought thousands of people together to raise awareness and money for the people of Palestine has become overshadowed by two words.”