MACKLEMORE MIGHT RAP about tolerance and love, but his recent surprise set in Seattle caused a few mouths to drop.

The rapper took to the stage at the Experience Music Project Museum on Friday night dressed as some kind of Jewish stereotype with a large prosthetic nose and fake beard.

Needless to say, spectators took issue with the costume

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So what’s the explanation? Seattle Weekly thinks it could have been an innocent disguise, given the surprise set. Macklemore himself later tweeted that the random mix of prosthetics was just that, a random mix.

After an influx of backlash from his Tweet, he took to his website to issue a statement:

Family, friends and fans alike who know me well, know that I’m absolutely not the person described in certain headlines today. There is no worse feeling than being misunderstood, especially when people are hurt or offended.

The rapper went on to say that it was simply a disguise so he could go incognito to the event and could keep his performance a surprise.

I picked up a bunch of fake mustaches [sic] and beards and grabbed a left over wig from our recent trip to Japan. 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.

He did, however, apologise for any offence caused by resemblance to a Jewish stereotype.

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

Updated 8.45am

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