Macy Gray told DailyMail.com she was surprised by Republicans' outrage over her suggestion that the flag should be redesigned to add two stars and turn some of them brown, saying she doesn't see what the 'tragedy is' and that it's 'time for a change' after 60 years of the same design.
Gray sparked debate last week when she wrote in an op-ed for MarketWatch that she believes the Old Glory flag should be replaced because it is 'tattered and divisive.'
She said it had been 'weaponized' by the Capitol rioters and now sends a confusing message which some Americans don't want to salute.
Republicans responded to her remarks by telling her to leave the country if she doesn't like the flag.
In an interview with DailyMail.com, Gray said she is 'absolutely' a proud American and loves her country so was surprised by some critics telling her to leave if she doesn't like the flag.
'I never said that I didn't like my country. I love it here. I never even said I didn't like the flag! I said it was confusing and represents something else.
'The present flag is about 60 years old now. I personally don't see like what the tragedy is... it's inevitable. It's going to change.'
She said she hasn't yet heard from anyone in Washington who might want to adopt the change, and that she was going to start contacting lawmakers who she thinks can help but she hasn't yet figured out who to call.
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Macy Gray told DailyMail.com she was surprised by Republicans' outrage over her suggestion that the flag should be redesigned to add two stars and turn some of them brown, saying she doesn't see what the 'tragedy is' and that it's 'time for a change' after 60 years of the same design
Macy told DailyMail.com that she didn't actually come up with the design - it was instead created by an anonymous artist who she says works for the government. The stars are the color of the melanin scale, which she says would send a message that 'we're all in this together... time to get over yourselves'
'That's my next step...I didn't know it was going to go like this - I thought I would put this up and people would send me ideas like, Macy what if there was a triangle or a rainbow.
'I thought people would want to be a part of this new design. That was really what I thought. I know people will think I'm crazy but I really didn't see all this crazy stuff coming,' she said.
'That was my next step. I was going to start reaching out to people who can actually make it happen. I haven't been online much.
'People have sent me stuff but I haven't really read too much of the reaction.'
Gray, 53, said she came up with the design with a 'government artist' who wants to remain anonymous.
'I came up with it with the actual designer who wants to remain anonymous. He's a really prominent artist and I looked him up and found an article he'd interviewed for.
'After the insurrection, especially when I see the flag, I'm not sure if they're holding the flag because they love the flag or if because of the drama that just went down in 2020.'
'I called the writer and she sent the number. He's a different kind of artist. He works for the government, that's all I can say. He really does not want to be... He wants to stay out of it. He has his reasons.'
She believes because the current flag was used in the Capitol riot, it has been ruined and now sends a confusing message which Americans don't know how to respond to.
'I think just what it symbolizes now. We all saw it used as a weapon at the insurrection a lot of people held that point of view, that the government should be overturned and that Ted Pence should be hanged.
Republican politicians and pundits roundly slammed Gray on Twitter following the publication of her op-ed
'They carried the flag to attack the Capitol. That's crazy. No one's done anything about it. People were charged with crimes but no one's said you can't use the flag to beat a police officer. That's a felony.
'It was kind of, became this symbol of people who call themselves patriots which is very divisive because all of us who consider ourselves patriotic and love our country were not of that point of view,' she said.
'After the insurrection, especially when I see the flag, I'm not sure if they're holding the flag because they love the flag or if because of the drama that just went down in 2020.'
She thinks that the meaning of the flag has changed - so a physical change can't hurt that much.
'I know there's more people that enjoy the flag for the right reasons but just the fact that it has been used as a symbol of hate and it has been weaponized. The flag has been violated and its meaning has changed.
'I'm just saying I think it's time for it to change. It's a message. Does it fix America and stop crime and save all the babies.
'No. But it lets everybody know that we're all equal so every time you go to a baseball game and you pledge allegiance, you see yourself.'
Gray said she plans to release an album later this year, her first since 2018.
She argued in her MarketWatch op-ed that because rioters stormed the Capitol on January 6 with the flag, it had replaced the Confederate flag.
'It's not fair to be forced to honor it. It's time for a new flag,' she wrote.
She said there should be 52 stars not 50, to include the District of Colombia and Puerto Rico. Gray argued that both have been denied statehood because 'DC reps would be African-American and Puerto Rican reps would be Hispanic.'
Gray said that because the flag was used in the January 6 riot to attack police officers, she thinks the 'meaning' of it has changed
'The ultimate assumption is that these elected officials would be Democratic. That alone is racist,' Gray wrote.
She said the stripes should no longer be white but 'off-white' and that the stars in the flag shouldn't just be white but 'the colors of ALL of us — your skin tone and mine — like the melanin scale'.
'It’s time for a reset, a transformation. One that represents all states and all of us,' she said.
Republicans including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem rejected her idea, saying they were proud of Old Glory which 'still waves as a symbol of liberty and justice for all.'
Republican Congressman Andy Biggs, who represents Arizona's 5th congressional district, bluntly tweeted: 'If you don’t like the American flag, feel free to leave.'
Gray, in the days since her op-ed, has doubled down on her arguments, saying too many people are 'confused' by the current flag and what it represents.
Her argument is in two parts. The first is that DC and Puerto Rico should be given statehood.
DC statehood is what is currently being proposed by the Democrats in H.R., 51, a bill introduced in April which the Biden administration supports and which the House has passed.
It says that DC residents - who pay tax but aren't represented in any voting capacity in Washington - are entitled to the change and that the current structure oppresses them.
Republicans argue that making DC and Puerto Rico states would require a change to the constitution, huge legal and political changes and the creation of an entirely new state that is unlike any other.
Because the size of the federal district of Columbia can't be changed, the 51st new state would be small. They also say that it would give lawmakers too much power over how the Federal District is run, allowing them to increase security for example.
If DC becomes a state, it would add two Senate seats and it would gain a House seat but because the number of House seats is capped at 435, it means another state would have to give up one of its seats.
