2017/13: Should the US rapper Macklemore have been invited to sing at the NRL grand final?
Introduction to the media issue
Video clip at right:On September 28, 2017, Channel 10 News reported that the NRL intended to continued with the scheduling of US rapper Macklemore to perform ‘Same Love’ at the grand final, despite calls for the song to be banned. If you cannot see this clip, it will be because video is blocked by your network. To view the clip, access from home or from a public library, or from another network which allows viewing of video clips.
What they said...
'A world so hateful some would rather die than be who they are
And a certificate on paper isn't gonna solve it all
But it's a damn good place to start'
Some of the lyrics of Macklemore's Same Love
'The entertainment does not have to come from an Australian performer. We are not that small-minded. But the act has to suit the sport, does it not?'
Will Swanton, sports reporter for The Australian
The controversy at a glance
On September 1, 2017, the NRL announced that it had invited US rapper Macklemore to sing at the opening of the 2017 grand final. The announcement met with a low-key but mixed media response as to the suitability of the entertainer's style of entertainment.
On September 12, 2017, survey forms began to be mailed out to all Australian voters to allow them to indicate their view on the legalisation of same-sex marriage. If the postal vote indicates majority support for this law change, a bill to amend the Australian Marriage Act will be put to Parliament before the end of the year.
In this context, Macklemore's appearance at the NRL grand final began to attract additional attention as one of his most popular songs, Same Love, has been associated with the same-sex marriage movement in the United States. The song was scheduled to be sung at the grand final.
On September 27, 2017, former NRL player, Tony Wall, started a petition on Change.org demanding the Macklemore's Same Love not be played at the NRL grand final and that 'LGBTIQ politics is taken out of the NRL.'
The debate around whether Macklemore should perform and whether his Same Love song should be part of his act grew as the NRL grand final approached.
Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott opposed the performance, as did, among others, Queensland MP, Bob Katter, and One Nation Senator, Pauline Hanson.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Labor Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten and Coalition Senator Eric Abetz are among those who have supported the rapper's appearance and the disputed song.