Macklemore removed from Las Vegas festival after leading ‘F*** America’ chant

Macklemore on Tuesday was removed from the upcoming Las Vegas-based Neon City Festival after making controversial comments during a show on Sunday.

The festival said on Instagram Tuesday, ‘Macklemore will no longer be performing due to unforeseen circumstances,’ after the 41-year-old musical artist led a chant of ‘F*** America’ at a benefit festival titled Palestine Will Live Forever in his native Seattle.

The Can’t Hold Us vocalist, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, had been announced as a performer for the Vegas festival Friday.

On Wednesday, he posted a statement to his Instagram account in which he said he slipped up in using the verbiage he did at the festival, and didn’t mean to undercut the message he was trying to send with his efforts.

‘My thoughts and feelings are not always expressed perfectly or politely,’ the three-time Grammy winner said. ‘Sometimes I slip up and get caught in the moment … unfortunately, 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.’

He said in the message: ‘I wish I had been in a better place with my grief and anger. But the truth is I’m not OK. I haven’t been.’

Macklemore said that he remains ‘unwavering in my support for a Free Palestine’ and has suffered professional consequences as a result.

‘I’ve lost endorsements, I’ve lost business ties,’ Macklemore said. ‘I’m still here.’

Macklemore has been a vocal proponent of Palestine in the near-year since the Israel-Hamas war erupted.

This past May, he put out a song titled Hind’s Hall supporting students who protested on college campuses this past spring against the US’s support of Israel in the conflict.

Lyrics in the song included: ‘The blood is on your hands Biden, we can see it all/And f*** no, I’m not voting for you in the fall.’

Procedures made from the recording were forwarded to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Performers who are slated to play at the Neon City Festival include Alison Wonderland, Neon Trees, Russell Dickerson and Seven Lions.

Feedback to Macklemore’s removal from the free music festival ranked a number of social media users who were critical of the decision, citing the political issues involved, and what they called a disregard for the musical artist’s freedom of speech.

One user said: ‘What a rash decision to silence one of the bravest voices we have in this country speaking up about the atrocities our government is enabling over seas against countless innocent civilians. Shame on you.’

Said another user, ‘Great way of showing the international community you’re pro genocide,’ while another said, ‘What happened to freedom of speech? Maybe let his fans decide if they still want to see him? Weak.’

One user said, ‘So yall don’t like freedom of speech? He’s one of the few rappers actually speaking out about americas involvement in the genocide of Palestinians.’

Another added, ‘Ew yall really dropped Macklemore? Good luck finding someone to replace him and the thousands of people who were going to see him.’

A number of prominent figures from Washington’s Jewish community told Seattle NBA affiliate KING 5 that they were disappointed with Macklemore’s actions and implored local sports teams to cease playing his music during games.

Stand With Us Northwest regional director Randy Kessler told the station ‘there’s a lot of people who are simply disgusted.

‘What we’d like to see, frankly, is for the Mariners to stop using his song as the seventh-inning stretch song. Go back to Louie, Louie, which was very popular, which everyone would enjoy.’

Kessler added, ‘What I think, really, Macklemore should understand is the damage that his words do to the Jewish community while trying to help the Palestinians.’

Seattle synagogue BCHM president Ari Hoffman said that ‘a lot of people on my social media are saying, “Deleted him from my playlist. Gone, done.”‘

The Seattle teams Seattle Kraken (NHL hockey) and Sounders FC (MLS soccer), which Macklemore is a minority owner in, put out a joint statement that read, ‘We are aware of Macklemore’s increasingly divisive comments, and they do not reflect the values of our respective ownership groups, leagues, or organizations.

‘We are currently evaluating our collective options on this matter.’