Rapper Macklemore Sorry for ‘Jewish’ Costume

By JTA May 20, 2014

Rapper Macklemore has apologized for a wearing a costume widely perceived as anti-Semitic, writing that he did not intend the costume to be a stereotype.

The popular musician appeared at Seattle’s EMP Museum on Friday wearing a dark suit, a bushy brown wig and beard, and a large prosthetic nose. The performance was part of the opening for the museum’s exhibit “Spectacle: The Music Video.” During the course of his set, he performed his hit song, “Thrift Shop.”

Macklemore reportedly offered no on-stage explanation for his costume during the performance, and the costume attracted no negative comment at the time from the audience.

The musician’s outfit drew a number of comments online and on Twitter from observers suggesting that Macklemore’s costume was anti-Semitic. The website The Daily Dot described his costume as “some kind of Jewish caricature, prosthetic schnozz included.”

On his website Monday, Macklemore wrote that “my intention was to dress up and surprise the people at the show with a random costume and nothing more.”

“I acknowledge how the costume could, within a context of stereotyping, be ascribed to a Jewish caricature,” he wrote. “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 truly apologize to anybody that I may have offended,” he added.

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