US rapper Macklemore sings gay anthem ‘Same Love’ to Australian rugby fans amid same-sex marriage vote
Controversy comes as up to 15 million Australians take part in a voluntary postal vote on whether to legalise gay marriage, with the results to be released in mid-November
American rap artist Macklemore performed a gay anthem at a rugby league final in Sydney on Sunday, thanks to the sport’s bosses rejecting pressure from opponents of same-sex marriage as Australia votes on liberalising its marriage laws.
Macklemore sang Same Love to more than 80,000 fans of a sport traditionally associated with macho values, as the North Queensland Cowboys took on the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League Grand Final.
Fans respectfully waved electric candles as rainbow coloured smoke rose above the stage during the performance.
NRL bosses resisted pressure last week to stop the song despite a petition signed by just over 18,000 people calling for the performance to be banned.
Instead, the song promoting gay rights rose to number one on the Australian iTunes chart where it remained ahead of the match on Sunday.
Retweeted NRL (@NRL):
Same Love - @macklemore feat. @marylambertsing#NRLGF#NRL pic.twitter.com/nagOfp5upV https://t.co/TmlH15Jcgq— John Marshall (@MrFrugii) October 1, 2017
Macklemore pledged on Friday to donate proceeds from the Australian sales of the song to help the campaign to legalise same-sex marriage.