Macklemore has been dropped from the line-up of a Las Vegas music festival after going viral for denouncing America during a performance.
The Can’t Hold Us rapper, real name Ben Haggerty, was announced as part of the line-up for the inaugural Neon City Festival, a free event in downtown Las Vegas, last week.
However, the organisers shared an updated poster on social media on Tuesday and confirmed that Macklemore would no longer be performing during the festival in late November.
In the caption, they simply stated, “Macklemore will no longer be performing due to unforeseen circumstances.”
While they didn’t divulge the reason behind his withdrawal, the announcement came just days after a video of the rapper saying, “F**k America” went viral on social media. He made the remark at the Palestine Will Live Forever Festival in Seattle, Washington.
During his set, Macklemore also performed the live debut of Hind’s Hall 2, a sequel to his pro-Palestine single Hind’s Hall. The song, which was released on Saturday, features Palestinian-American singer Anees and the Palestinian rapper MC Abdul, among others.
Amid the pointed lyrics, Macklemore addresses Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, rapping, “Hey Kamala, I don’t know if you’re listening/ But stop sending money and weapons, or you ain’t winning Michigan.”
All proceeds from the song go to UNRWA USA, a non-profit organisation that supports Palestinian refugees.
Macklemore has yet to comment on the festival news.
