Macklemore doubles down on ‘Free Palestine’ stance at first show after being kicked off Ed Sheeran’s tour
Macklemore has doubled down on the political stance that saw him kicked off Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour at his first concert since the whole saga unfolded last month.
Taking to the stage at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre last week, he made it clear he stands by his calls to “Free Palestine” weeks after his previous on-stage comments led him to controversially removed as Galway Girl singer’s opening act.
Macklemore stood by his previous calls to ‘Free Palestine’ at a show last week. TikTok/@hey.itslizzz
“Being a human being in this moment is not complicated. It is not political. It is human to have a heart to watch others suffer and to say not any more,” he told the crowd.
“So I say, free Palestine. I say free Palestine. I say free Sudan. I say free Congo, Lebanon, to Haiti, to all the people that are affected by ICE in America that are afraid to leave their houses.
“The message will always be love.”
Macklemore, real name Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, was removed from Sheeran’s tour after making similar comments on stage at the Shape Of You hitmaker’s New Jersey show on September 4.
“A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” he told the crowd before performing Hind’s Hall.
Footage of the moment circulated on social media and the Israeli American Council launched a petition calling for him to be removed from the tour.
Macklemore was removed from Sheeran’s tour over his ‘Free Palestine’ comments. Getty
The rapper insisted in a social media statement that “wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial”, but the drama only escalated.
Singer Pink slammed Macklemore in a lengthy Instagram post and billionaire Robert Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium, reportedly threatened to cancel Sheeran’s scheduled shows there unless the rapper was fired.
Less than two weeks after making the comments in New Jersey, Macklemore announced he’d been dropped from the tour.
“Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium,” he said in a statement at the time.
“Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively gave him an ultimatum: ‘If Macklemore stays on tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.’”
Unfortunately for Sheeran, who said the decision was out of his hands, it backfired massively.
The cancellations further complicated Ed Sheeran’s ‘Loop’ tour, which was already embroiled in controversy. Getty/Theo Wargo
So began a weeks-long scandal that saw Sheeran’s ticket sales plummet and other support acts drop out of the tour in solidarity with Macklemore, while musical acts around the world took sides in the messy drama.
Even his own cousin waded into the scandal, labelling the singer “selfish” and “malicious” in an Instagram post.
“Finally it’s all coming out! I’m ashamed of my cousin Ed – he’s done,” Jethro Sheeran wrote.
“Finally the world and all his fans see through him. He’s not a good person, I don’t like his music, so I can’t say he’s even a good artist.”
Sheeran’s shows at Gillette Stadium also ended up being cancelled due to wild weather conditions.
Macklemore announced three new shows in a concert series raising funds for Palestinian-focused charities. Getty
Meanwhile, Macklemore’s three-show Free Palestine tour sold out immediately.
“I’m honestly blown away. We put these shows together fast and in community, believing that musicians can stand in solidarity with Palestine, use the stage to raise funds and show what collective action can look like,” he wrote on social media.
“When those in power try to silence our calls for liberation, art will always be a form of resistance.”
