Macklemore was scheduled to open for Ed Sheeran at a total of 10 stops on his Loop Tour. However, following only two performances at MetLife Stadium, the American rapper took to Instagram on September 14 to announce that Sheeranâs team had chosen to remove him from the tour. This decision was prompted by Macklemoreâs onstage âFree Palestineâ remarks at the September 4 and 5 opening shows of the tour, but was seemingly announced following pressure from artists and venue owners.
On September 6, singer P!nk reposted a statement from the advocacy organization StopAntisemitism, which accused Macklemore for anti-Israel propaganda, claiming he âaccused Israel of a false âgenocideâ and turned a mainstream event into a political nightmare against the Jewish stateâ, and encouraging refunds for concertgoers. On September 11, she doubled down on the post by sharing her own thoughts on the situation.
She expressed that â[Macklemore] stood in front of a stadium full of music-loving families, with violent images from a war on the screens […] and then took the mic to tell all of the Jews in the stadium that it wasnât about them.â She claimed that, as a Jewish person, she wanted to be able to say ââthat scared me, and it scared people I love,â without being told our fear is just propaganda.”
From the perspective of U.S. foreign policy, which donates billions of dollars annually to fund the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), opinions similar to P!nkâs have not been structurally silenced. Although the attitudes of the general public have become increasingly more pro-Palestinian, what happened to Macklemore is not an isolated incident. However, when artists have a platform and the ability to advocate for a cause they believe in and potentially make a difference, from a very privileged country to a large population of people overseas who have nothing, why should fear be the reason to stop?
P!nkâs entire statement is encapsulated in its ending: âNow Iâm going to go make dinner for my kids, light the candles, dip some apples in honey, pour a glass of wine and be full of gratitude.â Thatâs exactly it. Because P!nk is a celebrity, but more importantly, because she is American, she can log off her phone and return to her lifeâone in which she claims to be scared. Meanwhile, there are people across the globe experiencing something far scarier.Â
Despite it having been years since P!nk has been relevant in the music industry, her post garnered a significant amount of attention. It seems that, due to public pressure, Robert Kraft, the CEO of the Kraft Group, rallied the owners of venues and told Sheeran that Macklemore would not be allowed to perform in their venues, precipitating the rapperâs Instagram post. Although he acknowledged his friendship with Sheeran, he held him accountable, stating, âWhen one side has the bombs and the bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesnât leave you in the middle.â
His entire statement was well-articulated and thoughtful, and I would encourage everyone to read it because I could not add anything to it that he didnât already say. However, one of my favorite quotes did not come from him, but instead from an Arabic phrase introduced to him by his friend: âThere is no thanks for a duty.â
After Sheeran started receiving backlash following Macklemoreâs statement, he posted on Instagram, denying any accountability: âMacklemore coming off tour was the promoterâs decision, it was not mine.â He plays the part of a middleman in two respects: advocating for Macklemore against promoters and venue owners who had the final say, and using the âapoliticalâ excuse to avoid choosing a side. However, refusing to take an official stance, coupled with his choice of languageâsuch as calling the genocide a conflict and referring to his shows as a space for unityâleaves no doubt as to what his true opinions are. Especially, as others have pointed out, keeping in mind that he was never too apolitical to advocate for Ukraine.
There are multiple issues with Sheeranâs statement that come up time and time again when celebrities talk about politics. First, he says, âThere is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics â my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds.â Having age-appropriate political conversations with children should be encouraged to build independent critical-thinking skills. Education is resistance, and hiding reality from children arguably does more harm than good. Not to mention, children from all backgrounds can and should engage in these conversations.
Second, he says, âI choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary […] If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change.â It is dangerous to imply that having an opinion inherently works against any kind of peace or resolution. This is complacency. The world is unjust regardless of whether we choose to acknowledge it, but not everyone feels comfortable living in ignorance. Nothing will ever change if we ignore hard truths for the sake of preserving a âsanctuaryâ for the more fortunate, especially when it comes at the cost of other childrenânot just their innocence, but also their lives. A platform is a platform; why should it matter if music is played on the stage?
In my personal opinion, Sheeranâs response made him look worse than if he had just said nothing. All other acts on the Loop Tour made the decision to drop out. One opener, Aaron Rowe, explained, âAs Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation.â Irish band Beoga, who served as Sheeranâs backing band on tour, reflected this sentiment: âWe are Irish people who understand colonialism. As founding members of the Irish Artists For Palestine movement, we are committed activists for justice and will continue to be.âÂ
At the same time that Sheeranâs supporting acts announced their departure, Guitar Center launched a competition that would reward one artist with the opportunity to open his Mexico City show. Allegedly, this contest had been in development for months, but it could not come at a better time. For an artist with a net worth of $400 million and more than 20 years of professional connections, negative public opinion is perhaps the most realistic way for him to be held accountable and reconsider his stance. I wonât hold my breath, though.
Powerful individuals seem to be living in a different world than the rest of us, and it is not every day that they become grounded in reality. Following pushback, Robert Kraft released a statement in which he claimed that he would âmatch [Sheeranâs] donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis.â Kraft left the recipients of the $2 million donation conveniently vague; however, The Intercept reports that the CEO has a long history of funding the nonprofit organization Friends of the Israel Defense Forces.
This is ironic, given that, in Kraft’s own words, he âsupported efforts that create[d] opportunity for Palestinians and have brought young Palestinians and Israelis togetherâ for decades. It is, of course, a trend for billionaire businessmen to be out of touch and corrupt (this one also happens to have a long-standing relationship with Donald Trump), but perhaps we can still hope that our favorite artists share our views on human rights.
At the same time, I have seen other celebrities who have reposted or liked Macklemoreâs statement publicly applauded for âbeing on the right side of history,” but there is no thanks for a duty. It is important for us not to lose sight of what all of this is about. Taking a stance is not a simple issue of public shaming for some and performative activism for othersâreal lives are at stake in this conversation, which is why it needs to be had. And when thousands of innocent people are facing a humanitarian crisis, the conversation was never about our comfort.