It looks like Macklemore has kicked up a veritable hornets’ nest by using his support slot on Ed Sheeran’s current North American tour to call for a “free Palestine”.
The controversy started the week before last when the rapper was warming up for Sheeran at his gigs at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Macklemore made an impassioned speech saying that he wanted Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank to know “they have not been forgotten...I believe that every human being walking on this earth deserves exactly the same freedom.”
He added: “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you.
"My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. I say Free Palestine, free Cuba, Congo, Sudan and Iran and all the people of America who live in fear because of this terrorist organisation ICE”
When you fill stadiums you can say what you want. When you are the opening act for someone who fills stadiums ... STFU! Simple rules and etiquette when operating on tour.. It's not that hard kids. 🤷♂️September 9, 2026
Following this, the Israeli-American Council launched a petition urging Sheeran to kick Macklemore off the tour. And then other musicians began to weigh in on the issue. Pink reshared a post that accused the rapper of being anti-Israel.
Joe Bonamassa – not a figure who has ever previously intervened about anything politically – tweeted: “When you fill stadiums you can say what you want. When you are the opening act for someone who fills stadiums ... STFU! Simple rules and etiquette when operating on tour.. It's not that hard kids.”
However, others have leapt to Macklemore’s defence. Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett replied to Bonamassa by pointing out that “Maybe speaking out against genocide trumps etiquette.”
When someone else questioned Shiflett’s use of the word genocide and accused him of overlooking other atrocities around the world, he countered with: “The Israeli genocide in Gaza is one that our country has a particularly close relationship too, so you should expect criticism.”
Meanwhile Pink – who had received a fair amount of flak for her initial response to the incident – posted a measured explanation of her own position on Friday (11 September). “I was born a Jew. I didn’t pick it, and I’ve never hidden it,” she began before saying: "I don’t speak for Israel, or for any government. I never have.
"What I said in October 2023 is still exactly what I believe: Hamas is a terrorist organisation. Palestinians deserve a future that honours their humanity and their aspirations. Protecting innocent life comes first, everywhere, and nobody should ever celebrate the death of a child. Anybody’s child.”
This may all well rumble on for some time yet. Ed Sheeran – whose gig it was in the first place, remember – has yet to make any public statement about the whole thing, or Macklemore’s continued presence on his Loop tour. After a two week break he’s back on stage at Lincoln Field, Philadelphia this coming Saturday.
