Macklemore appears to be responding to the outrage following his passionate “Free Palestine” speech.
On Monday (Sept. 7), the 43-year-old rapper took to X to share a video of his speech, which took place at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium while opening for Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour over the weekend, along with the caption, “Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial.”
The “Can’t Hold Us” rapper’s post comes just days after The Israeli-American Council filed a petition demanding his removal from Sheeran's ongoing tour.
“This was an Ed Sheeran concert – not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event,” read the petition, per The Hollywood Reporter. “The issue is not whether Macklemore has the right to hold political views. The question is where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda.
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The petition continued, “This becomes even more troubling when the message relies on selective imagery, biased messaging, and disputed claims presented to a massive audience as fact, without context or complexity.”
“One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: free Palestine,” Macklemore told the crowd at Sheeran’s concert. “I want those words to be loud and clear, so the people from Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them. And this next song was inspired by the bravery of Columbia University students who led an encampment movement that mobilized the entire world, opened up hearts—myself included. So thank you to those students that risked their diplomas, that risked their tuition, that risked their scholarships, that stood up and said no.”
He added, “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide [is] 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. So I say free Palestine, I say free Lebanon, I say free Cuba, I say free Congo, free Sudan, free all people in America living in fear over this terrorist organization ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.”
The rapper then performed his 2024 track, “Hinds Hall,” which was released in support of pro-Palestinian campus protests.
Sheeran nor concert promoter Live Nation have publicly commented on the matter.
