Contest-Winning High School Declines Macklemore Visit & $10K Grant

Contest-Winning High School Declines Macklemore Visit & $10K Grant

Some high school administrators in California are so uncomfortable with the very idea of rap music that they’re willing to turn down a whole lot of money over it. The Orange County Register reports that Aliso Niguel High School turned down a visit from Mackemore and Ryan Lewis, as well as a $10,000 grant for its music department. The school had won a contest that required students to register on the textbook sales and rental website Chegg, but Principal Deni Christensen opted to turn down the prize because, per the newspaper, “some parents said that Macklemore and Ryan Lewis support alcohol and drug use and misogyny in their music.”

You would be hard-pressed to find a rap group less apt to support alcohol, drugs, or misogyny, but that’s high school administrators for you. Predictably, many students and parents are outraged, and a petition asking the school to change its decision has already received thousands of signatures. If the school had simply cited “Macklemore suuuuuucks” as its reason, it would’ve had more of a leg to stand on.

UPDATE: Noisey points out The Orange County Register’s report that Macklemore’s appearance at the school is back on in response to student protest. The school will accept the $10,000 grant. A compromise was struck: The kids just have to bring a signed permission slip to attend.

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