“I think it’s genuinely one of the classiest & most compassionate statements from an artist that I’ve ever read.”
Share on bsky“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” ~ Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Countdown to ruining your reputation: 4. “Beoga, Ed Sheeran’s band, withdraw from the tour in support of Palestine.” 3. “Irish singer, Aaron Rowe, has decided to pull out of being an opening act for Ed Sheerans tour with a powerful statement.” 2. Lucas Graham drops out of Ed Sheeran’s tour following Aaron Row and Ed’s band
1. “Ed Sheeran’s spineless “response” to Macklemore.”
Sheeran put out a…not great statement. It nailed all the mistakes of someone concerned more with image than, say, genocide: he literally said “both sides,” I’m not complicit! Escapism! Think of the (some of the) children!
And everyone’s quit his tour, since. Even his own band!
“Macklemore speaks out after being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour following his ‘Free Palestine’ speech; says Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft rallied other stadium owners and gave Ed Sheeran an ultimatum: if Macklemore stayed on tour, then Ed would not be able to play in their venues.”
If you’re behind, see the bottom of this post for all the relevant videos and responses, they’re all rich in meaning and impact.
For years now, Elephant has platformed those speaking for, or against, or in between, or right side up or upside down on Israel’s merciless war on largely helpless Palestine. While we’re a community, not One Voice, I term it a genocide. It’s clearly more than “just” war crimes. It’s downright evil, and hypocritical. And yes, there’s nuance and complication to it and we’ve done videos and articles on all that. But let’s be clear: any intent to kill innocent civilians, on any side, is illegal and immoral.
If Palestine is an “issue” to us, that means we haven’t opened our hearts to empathy nor our minds to learning about all that is actually going on: the human stories, the daily toll, and atrocities, and heartbreak, the struggle. If our first response is “but October 7th,” you’re not wrong in that, but you have not looked at all that has happened since and continues to happen. Day after day.
It’s hard, from a position of privilege, to express a political truth or view clearly, without ego or blinders on. Macklemore shows how:
Macklemore’s statement:
“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. 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. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don’t lose sight of that.
Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.
Ed was in a fucked up position. He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words “Free Palestine” and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with. 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.
And I get why people don’t. Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I’ve lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn’t leave you in the middle.
What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now? Because now I’m sharing a stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stadiums in America. At a certain level of exposure, “Free Palestine” becomes too much of a risk. If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next? The stage becomes resistance. Maybe that’s why this time it became so important to silence me.
And one of the most effective ways to enforce that silence has been to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism. Antisemitism is real. And that is exactly why the word matters too much to be used as a shield against criticism of the Israeli state. When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying “Free Palestine” gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn’t protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability.
Who is winning the internet, who is getting canceled, who gets to play the stadium and who doesn’t, all of it becomes so small when held against what we are actually witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank. An entire people being displaced, starved and killed while the world debates which words we are allowed to use to describe it, how those words make us feel, and whether our discomfort matters more than the people living through a genocide.
I didn’t need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say. Free Palestine. But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”
A few apt comments: “Not taking sides is also taking sides, Ed.”
“In another time he would be sitting in the Whites Only section perfectly happy.” ““Refusing to take sides doesn’t leave you in the middle.” Like DAMN 
”
“But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.” ~ M
Chills.
~
This part got me. I’m not going to lie, I teared up a bit reading that. I wish every person with a platform/in power had the integrity and backbone that he does.
~
Shit, I wish people without a platform had a percent of his integrity and backbone. I’ve been listening to Macklemore since before his first hit so I’m familiar with his game but still. Continuously impressed.
If you’re behind, Macklemore gave a speech about Palestine on stage the other day. Pink, for some reason, clapped back, and was widely panned for her approach. Now, Sheeran buckled to overlord corporate pressure, and here’s Mack’s statement.
Relevant posts:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/rMDonyVtd5
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/MKSyfi3L6L
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/teDa46YaQW
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/BGY2cD5O37
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/cg9H4TZSrA
We’ve loved Macklemore for a long, long, long time. Many more articles etc on him on Elephant, just search for a nostalgia ride.
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