US rapper Macklemore has said he was removed from his tour with Ed Sheeran after saying “Free Palestine” during a gig supporting the singer. The 43-year-old musician, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, made the comment during a concert at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, telling the crowd he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
Macklemore's statement on the removal
In a post on Monday, Macklemore said: “I’m going to speak from the heart and share the truth. Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.” He added that he hoped it was not the end of his friendship with Sheeran.
He said: “But before I get into it, I want to say something that should be obvious. In this moment I think it matters. I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families. The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence.”
Claims over stadium owner's role
Macklemore went on to claim that Robert Kraft, whose Kraft Group owns the Gillette Stadium that they were due to play in, had contacted Sheeran and told him they would not be able to play unless he was removed from the tour. He said Sheeran told him the words “Free Palestine” and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with.
Macklemore said: “I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides’.”
Kraft's response and reactions
A statement from Mr Kraft described Macklemore’s comments as “hate speech” and accused him of “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community”. He said his participation in gigs at the stadium on September 25 and 26 would cross a line.
Mr Kraft said: “This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf. Their pain and loss are real. But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas, a United States and globally designated terrorist organisation whose horrific actions have caused immeasurable suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike.”
While many criticised Macklemore, there was support from Irish rap trio Kneecap and singer Paloma Faith. On Instagram, Faith said: “You are a rare and important voice, thank you for existing. This is so articulate and so powerful. You are a hero.”
In a post on Friday clarifying her repost of the petition, Pink said “Palestinians deserve a future that honours their humanity and their aspirations”. She added: “Last weekend he stood in front of a stadium full of music-loving families, with violent images from a war on the screens, dedicated a song to the movement of his choice, and then took the mic to tell all of the Jews in the stadium that it wasn’t about them. You don’t get to decide that for us. That’s what prompted my repost.”
Macklemore was one of over 1,100 artists, musicians and cultural workers who called for a boycott of the Eurovision Song Contest this year over the inclusion of Israel. The letter was co-ordinated by campaign group No Music For Genocide and signed by artists including Faith, Massive Attack, Paul Weller and Kneecap.
