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Australia: Watch Macklemore's Controversial Performance at National Rugby League Grand Final

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Australia is in the midst of a nationwide vote on gay marriage, and Macklemore took a stand for equality during his pre-game performance at the National Rugby League Grand Final Sunday (Oct. 1).

After announcing that he intended to sing his pro-LGBT anthem “Same Love” during his set, the rapper found himself at the center of a major controversy over the past week, with a petition to stop the performance from going forward reaching just over 18,000 signatures. 

As a result of the controversy, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ “Same Love,” which first came out in 2012, rose to No. 1 on the Australian iTunes chart, and Macklemore has pledged to donate proceeds from Australian sales of the song to aid the campaign for marriage equality. Read more via Stereogum