In an Instagram post on Monday, he wrote, "America was built by men who believed in and benefitted from racism. ... [and] those men who proudly owned and abused Black people are STILL celebrated all over the country."

"There are roughly 1848 confederate statues of in the US," the singer, actor and record producer continued.

"More than half are in The South, and it's not acceptable. No one should be protecting the legacies of confederate leaders and slave owners. If we plan to move forward, these monuments must come down."

The issue is one of many currently polarising the country, and although controversy has surrounded the Confederate monument matter since it re-emerged in the wake of the 2017 domestic terrorist attack in Charlottesville, Virginia, the pendulum of public opinion seems to have swung substantially toward removing them.

According to a recent Quinnipiac poll, 52 per cent of the people polled are in favour of removing them from public spaces (with 44 per cent opposed), whereas in August 2017, 39 per cent were in favour and 50 per cent opposed.

Australian Associated Press