Rap star Macklemore dumped by Las Vegas festival after anti-American chant
On Saturday, rap star Macklemore called out “(Expletive) America!” at a pro-Palestine show in Seattle.
On Tuesday, he was cut from a first-ever festival in downtown Las Vegas.
Organizers for the Neon City Festival have dropped the 41-year-old recording artist from their inaugural event, scheduled for Nov. 22-24 at several downtown venues and stages.
A statement from the event said “unforeseen circumstances” had prompted the decision. Officials responded to a request for comment early Tuesday morning.
The Neon City Festival was designed to generate business during the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix. Macklemore was among the five primary headliners for the event. No word on who, if anyone, would replace the ousted performer for this year’s festival.
The rapper was performing at the “Palestine Will Live Forever” festival in his hometown of Seattle on Saturday night. The performance was to benefit the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees.
Long a supporter of Palestinian causes, the singer-songwriter called out the U.S. for its policy in support of Israel in the war against the militant group Hamas. His chant was in his performance of the song, “Hind’s Hall 2” at the Seward Park Amphitheater.
In the song’s final verse, Macklemore raps the “(Expletive) America!” line.
“Straight up, say it, I’m not gonna stop you,” Macklemore says in a fan video from the show after the crowd shouts at the stage. “I’m not gonna stop you … yeah, (expletive) America,” he says into the mic, prompting cheers from the crowd. He later adds, “It’s a genocide and it has been since 1948,” the year the state of Israel was established.
Social media posts from the performance show the crowd chanting along, touching off a heated response that — it seems — has cost the headliner a spot in the November festival.
