Former Australian Prime Minister Tony
Abbott is promoting a petition that calls on the National Rugby
League (NRL) to scrap plans to feature Macklemore at its grand final
on Sunday.
The Australian government is asking all
of its more than 16 million voters to weigh in on whether the
government should extend marriage rights to gay and lesbian couples.
Results of the postal vote, estimated to cost $120 million, are
non-binding, and expected to be released on November 15.
While most Australians have probably
already received their ballots, the deadline to turn in ballots is
November 7.
Conservative politicians and pundits
are outraged that Macklemore plans to sing his pro-marriage equality
anthem, Save Love, at Sunday's event.
“Footy fans shouldn't be subjected to
a politicized grand final. Sport is sport!” Abbott, a vocal
opponent of same-sex marriage, wrote in tweeting the petition from
retired NRL player Tony Wall.
Wall's petition demands that the NRL
“reconsider its political position and remove LBGTIQ politics out
of the awesome sport of Rugby League.”
More than 15,300 people have signed the
petition as of Friday morning.
During an appearance on The Cruz
Show, Macklemore said that he was “getting a lot of tweets from
angry old white dudes in Australia.” “I think there's a petition
today to ban me from playing it. It's interesting times in
Australia,” he
said.
NRL executive Todd Greenberg told radio
station 2GB that Macklemore will sing four of his biggest hits on
Sunday, one of which will be “that song.” “And we're very
comfortable with that,” he
added.