Macklemore opens up about his controversial performance at the NRL Grand Final

MACKLEMORE has opened up about his trip to Australia and the controversy surrounding him performing “Same Love” at the NRL Grand Final.

THIS past September, Macklemore flew out to Sydney to make a high-profile appearance as pre-show entertainment for the National Rugby League Grand Final.

Macklemore performed ahead of the 2017 NRL Grand Final between the Melbourne Storm and the North Queensland Cowboys at ANZ Stadium, Sydney. Picture. Phil Hillyard.

But instead of thinking about choreography or tweaking set lists, the Seattle rapper was wondering whether he might be in any personal danger.

“I was honestly a little bit scared to perform when I was flying over,” he told the New York Post.

“I was checking to see what our security was like.”

Macklemore said he was nervous flying over to Australia and checked his security. Picture: AAP / Dan Himbrechts.

He was flying into the nationwide debate on same-sex marriage.

The 34-year-old’s performance at the NRL Grand Final featured his 2012 plea for gay and lesbian equality Same Love (performed with his regular music partner Ryan Lewis and singer Mary Lambert), which caused debate among many conservative members of government.

Prior to even arriving on Australian soil, he was met with waves of criticism from several Australian politicians, including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, who backed an online petition effectively calling for the song to be banned from the set.

Social media users were similarly unforgiving to Macklemore (AKA Ben Haggerty).

Ex NRL player Matt Cooper, with Macklemore while he visited Sydney and performed at the NRL grand final. Source: Instagram / @coopsmatt.

“Some people were saying, ‘He’s trying to push the gay agenda,’ or, ‘You’ll turn gay if you listen to Macklemore,’” the rapper said.

Still, following the time-honoured tradition of controversy leading to cash, the five-year-old song received a sales boost.

Just three days before the Grand Final, Same Love held the No. 1 spot on the Australian iTunes chart. (His current single, Good Old Days featuring Kesha, was at No. 2).

The performance itself went off without a hitch, but, in hindsight, Macklemore can see why it caused such a stink.

Macklemore’s songs were the No. 1 and No. 2 spot on the Australian iTunes chart ahead of his performance. Picture: AAP / Dan Himbrechts.

“It’s a macho, gladiator sport, like football is in America,” said Macklemore, who famously performed the song with Madonna at the Grammys in 2014, as scores of couples (both straight and gay) were married onstage.

“You’re gonna piss people off, but all these moments add up to an understanding and, hopefully, change.”

This article was originally published on the New York Post and was republished here with permission.

Originally published as Macklemore opens up about his controversial performance at the NRL Grand Final