US rapper Macklemore has come under fire from Australian politicians for being a 9/11 conspiracy theorist.
Liberal senator Eric Abetz and former Labor leader Mark Latham are among those who have criticised the rapper’s statement that ‘Bush knocked down the towers’.
The Grammy-winning artist arrived in Sydney on Saturday morning ahead of his upcoming NRL grand final performance.
Macklemore will play gay anthem Same Love at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night, when Melbourne and North Queensland face off in the rugby league decider.
While Mary Lambert hit out at critics of the duo’s gay anthem, the rapper (pictured) came under fire from Australian politicians for being a 9/11 conspiracy theorist
‘No’ campaigner Tony Abbott has criticised the NRL for choosing Macklemore for the NRL grand final in Sydney on Sunday
Liberal senator Eric Abetz and former Labor leader Mark Latham are among those who have criticised the rapper’s statement that ‘Bush knocked down the towers’ (pictured)
In addition to his ‘truther’ tweet, Macklemore also has a song titled ‘Bush Song’.
It contains the lyrics, ‘And y’all still think it was Bin Laden, When it was us [the Bushes] and the Masons, plottin’ on oil profits.’
‘[NRL] Fans I think will be horrified to learn that their expensive tickets not only helped subsidise the Yes campaign but put money in the pocket of a 9/11 denier,’ said Senator Abetz, The Australian reported.
Latham took to Twitter to express his disgust with the NRL’s choice of artist, asking how Malcolm Turnbull could support Macklemore and call him a great artist.
Latham took to Twitter to express his disgust with the NRL’s choice of artist, asking how Malcolm Turnbull could support Macklemore and call him a great artist
The singer (pictured) who appears on the controversial Macklemore track Same Love has hit out at their critics as the US rapper arrived in Sydney on Saturday morning
‘For the Australians who died in 9/11, imagine the disrespect in paying this guy to perform at NRL Grand Final,’ he wrote.
‘By dishonouring truth of 9/11 he dishonours [the] memory of Australians who died that day.’
Meanwhile, the singer who appears on the controversial Macklemore track has hit out at their critics.
Mary Lambert said Same Love is a love song and not political, and revealed she is more anxious than ever before in the lead-up to their performance.
Lambert (pictured) said Same Love is a love song and not political, and revealed she is more anxious than ever before in the lead-up to their performance
The US performers will play the song at ANZ Stadium on Sunday night, when Melbourne and North Queensland face off in the rugby league decider
‘It’s the people [who oppose gay marriage] that are unhappy, that are sad, that are sexually repressed, that are miserable who want other people to be miserable too,’ she told The Saturday Telegraph.
She suggested people who are against same-sex marriage might be gay themselves, singling out former prime minister Tony Abbott in a statement to The Advocate.
‘Well, Mr. Tony Abbott: Gay people exist, they will continue to exist, and I bet you some of them are rugby players and fans that are carrying unnecessary shame that you continue to perpetuate,’ she said.
‘I’ve repeatedly found that the people who scream the loudest in opposition to gay marriage are often those who are uncomfortable with their own sexuality.
Macklemore and Mary Lambert will be entertaining huge crowds at the NRL grand final on Sunday between Melbourne (right) and North Queensland (left)
American rapper Macklemore’s popular ‘gay anthem’ has crawled back to number one (pictured) on the charts after a wild 24 hours of controversy
‘Some of the worst homophobes in my life eventually came out as gay.’
Macklemore landed at Sydney Airport sandwiched between two bulky bodyguards after a passport bungle delayed his arrival.
After the NRL’s decision to choose the Grammy-winning artist provoked outrage from the ‘no’ campaign he is now taking flack for comments about 9/11.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said Same Love was one of the singer’s top songs and the NRL backed same-sex marriage.
‘What’s the problem,’ he told the Nine Network on Friday. ‘I look forward to it.’
‘If people want to express views on songs or anything else they’re entitled to do so, but I’m for free speech and in this case for the artist’s right to sing his song.’
Mackelmore’s media conference planned for Friday afternoon in Sydney was cancelled after the US rapper forgot his passport.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott (centre) has slammed the NRL for inviting the rapper to perform at the grand final, saying footy fans should not be subjected to a politicised grand final
‘Footy fans shouldn’t be subjected to a politicised grand final. Sport is sport,’ Mr Abbott wrote on Twitter on Tuesday
NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg said he did not regret choosing the rapper, labelling it one of the bravest decisions the league had made for pre-match entertainment.
The NRL and AFL have backed the yes campaign in the same-sex marriage postal survey.
Macklemore told a radio show in the US this week he had received ‘a lot of tweets from angry old white men’ and vowed to ‘go harder’ because of the furore.
‘Imma go harder, Imma love,’ he told The Cruz Program.
US rapper Macklemore has arrived in Sydney ahead of his performance at the NRL grand final on Sunday (2016 grand final pictured)
Macklemore was slammed Wednesday for choosing to perform the song celebrating same-sex marriage
Former prime minister Tony Abbott and right-wing independent MP Bob Katter have slammed the NRL for inviting the rapper to perform at the grand final, saying footy fans should not be subjected to a politicised grand final.
Senior coalition figure George Brandis criticised Mr Abbott for his selective backing of free speech.
‘For Mr Abbott and anyone else to say that it should be banned I think is a bizarre thing to say. I thought Mr Abbott believed in freedom of speech,’ he told ABC TV on Thursday.
‘Same Love’, a song celebrating same-sex relationships, first hit number in Australia in 2013 (‘Same Love’ music video pictured)
A media conference planned for Friday afternoon in Sydney had been cancelled, the NRL said in a statement