Zack Polanski has launched a blistering attack on Ed Sheeran while praising rapper Macklemore as an “absolute hero” after the pro-Palestinian rapper was dropped as the British singer’s opening tour act.
The Green Party leader hit out at Sheeran’s handling of the Israel-Gaza debate, while arguing that celebrities with huge platforms have a “big responsibility” to protest human suffering.
Stadium bosses accused of trying to cancel careers
Mr Polanski also turned his fire on stadium bosses, accusing them of trying to “cancel careers” and make life difficult for artists who speak out about the war in Palestine. Macklemore was removed from the Shape Of You singer’s Loop Tour following comments he made onstage earlier this month.
“I think Macklemore’s an absolute hero for what he did,” Mr Polanski told the Standard. “I think real heroes are people who are out there every single day doing public service, saving people’s lives and putting their lives in danger.
“I also recognise, though, that there was a huge reputational risk to what Macklemore did.” He added: “But then I think about Paloma Faith, who’s also been someone who’s been very vocal on this. And every time she’s asked about it, she says: ‘Innocent children are dying in a genocide. what, what else can I do?
“And then people sometimes say to her, ‘it’s complicated, you’re not a politician’. And she says, ‘it’s quite simple, innocent children are dying and there’s a genocide, and what else can I do?’
“So I think Ed Sheeran’s made a series of poor decisions and handled it really badly. I think two things can be true at the same time, he’s also not a politician and it’s not his job to navigate these situations.
“But I think it is any human being’s job to see the humanity and recognise that when you have a platform that big responsibility comes with that.”
Macklemore removed from tour
When he was taken off Sheeran’s tour on September 14, Macklemore argued stadium owners had pulled together to push him out. Billionaire stadium owner Robert Kraft accused the American rapper of hate speech and antisemitic rhetoric surrounding Israel and Gaza.
The New England Patriots owner confirmed he had banned Macklemore from performing during Sheeran’s shows at his Gillette Stadium near Boston.
Mr Kraft, who is Jewish, accused Macklemore of hate speech during his two previous support slots, where he called for a "free Palestine", showed images from Gaza and made other comments about the war and Israel. Mr Kraft last week said Sheeran had asked him to match his own £1.5million donation for "aid in the region".
“I think the real problem is Robert Kraft,” Mr Polanski added. “The real problem is the stadiums who have ganged up on artists to try and cancel careers or make things incredibly difficult for them.
“And they think they’re incredibly powerful and they are in terms of money. But what I’m seeing increasingly is the power of our communities.
“The power of a movement of people who want to see change and will make change by refusing to take no for an answer and won’t stop campaigning until they see justice and equality in human rights for all.”
By-election campaign
Mr Polanski’s comments come as he fights the Holborn & St Pancras by-election triggered by former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s resignation. The London Assembly member said he is hoping to pull off “one of the biggest upsets in British political history” by winning the safe Labour seat in the vote on October 8.
The Green Party has faced criticism this year after a number of its local election candidates were suspended for making antisemitic statements on social media.
At a hustings in the constituency on Thursday night, Mr Polanski, who is Jewish, refused to say whether he believed Israel had the right to exist and indicted that Zionism is a form of racism because it involved the "displacement and genocide" of Palestinians.
