If you’ve been paying attention to politics and pop culture over the last few weeks, you may have noticed that the two usually separate topics have collided thanks to Macklemore, whose NRL Grand Final performance was protested by the likes of Tony Abbott. Now, the ex-PM has offered some confusing viewpoints in relation to his taste in music.

The decision for Macklemore to perform at the NRL Grand Final yesterday caused a large amount of controversy from those who oppose the message of the US rapper’s equality anthem ‘Same Love’. Considering the fact that the track was written in support of same-sex marriage, the musician’s performance was considered timely by many, with the Australian same-sex marriage plebiscite currently underway.

However critics, such as Tony Abbot, even took to Twitter to share their stances on the topic, with Abbot writing that “Footy fans shouldn’t be subjected to a politicised grand final. Sport is sport!”

Despite petitions that protested Macklemore’s appearance as the Grand Final’s entertainment, the rapper defiantly took to the stage last night, performing ‘Same Love’, which he ended by simply stating “Equality for all.”

As you may notice, the world has not ended due to Macklemore’s presence at the NRL Grand Final, which is possibly why 2GB host Ray Hadley had a chat to Tony Abbott this morning about the Grand Final, as Junkee reports.

“I hadn’t seen anywhere where you said let’s ban the bloke,” said Ray Hadley. “You said the NRL made a bad call [in choosing him to play].”

“That’s exactly right,” Abbott replied. “Certainly I think we could have got someone who was a) Australian, and b) not going to be contentious on this current issue.”

At this point, the pair began talking about their knowledge of Macklemore, before descending into a discussion of music, prompting Abbott to quip, “Like me, Ray, you probably don’t listen to any music from after 1975 except the Travelling Wilburys. And Savage Garden! They were pretty good!”

Yes, despite his well-known stance on same-sex marriage, Tony Abbott openly supported the music of Savage Garden, whose frontman, Darren Hayes, is an openly gay individual who has spent years campaigning for same-sex marriage in Australia.

“I was bullied, I was tormented and eventually I convinced myself the person my mother gave birth to was something to be ashamed of,” Hayes wrote in an open letter to Malcom Turnbull last year. “I buried my sense of self and in turn developed a sense of self-hatred and shame that almost cost me my life.”

“As a gay Australian who has proudly represented his country globally, it saddens me that my marriage is recognised both in the United Kingdom and in the United States but means nothing in my country of birth.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time that Savage Garden has been noted as a favourite of Tony Abbott. Back in 2015, Darren Hayes responded to Abbott’s fondness for his former band by saying “I certainly do not listen to Tony Abbott.” Hayes later stated that he doesn’t put too much stock in the endorsement of someone who doesn’t “speak in the language of equality”.

The outspoken Darren Hayes used Tony Abbott’s more recent comments about Savage Garden to deliver yet another scathing rebuttal to Tony Abbott, taking to Twitter to simply state “I’m no fan of Tony of Abbott.”

Check out Savage Garden’s ‘Affirmation’ below, which Tony Abbott is likely a fan of, despite the lyric “I believe you can’t control or choose your sexuality.”

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