Macklemore Dresses Like Offensive Jewish Caricature, Feigns Ignorance

Macklemore’s love affair with easily placated progressives may have hit a rough patch over the weekend when the musician showed up at a Seattle concert dressed as what many perceive to be an offensive Jewish caricature, hook nose and all.

Following public backlash, Macklemore — the Tofu of Rap Music — is denying that the costume had any anti semitic intentions. Sure, and Fagin from Oliver Twist was just an industrious pick-pocket whose last name happened to be “the Jew.” Coincidences like these happen all the time!

Look, boy can play dumb all he wants, but the fact of the matter is that stereotype of the bearded, hooked nose Jewish person is both pervasive and persevering. You can see it in obvious sources like Nazi propaganda or in more subtle forms like the most common imagining of the Devil (remember — up until fairly recently, Jewish people were still rumored to have horns).

It’s not as though we’re only just now recognizing this type of shit as racist, so Macklemore’s surprise at being called out for his crude characterization (whether itwas intentional or not) comes off as disingenuous at worst and astoundingly ignorant at best. To his credit, this is the same dude who penned a pro-gay anthem that’s 50% about proving how straight he is, so who knows — maybe he really is that self-unaware.