Macklemore has never been afraid to speak out. From LGBTQ+ rights to Black Lives Matter, he doesn’t fear the consequences that come with talking about important social and political issues. Now, he is speaking out about what’s happening in Palestine.
During a stop at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey for Ed Sheeran’s tour, he sent his love to those living in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. He stressed his desire to see every oppressed person across the world finally be liberated from the shackles of fascism. “I believe that every human being walking on this earth deserves exactly the same freedom,” Macklemore told the audience.
Then, he also chanted for the freedom of Cuba, Congo, Sudan and Iran, after labeling ICE a “terrorist organization.” After his politically charged set, the Israeli American Council launched a petition to pull the Seattle-based rapper from the rest of the tour. In a statement, they stressed that he’s allowed to have his opinion. However, they argued that a stadium tour with Ed Sheeran isn’t the place to express such beliefs.
“This was an Ed Sheeran concert,” they said. “Not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event. 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.”
Macklemore Yells ‘Free Palestine’ and Some Have Called for His Removal From Tour
This wouldn’t be the first time that The Heist MC would be booted off stage for his political beliefs. Back in September 2024, he chanted “f**k America” at a show, leading to the inaugural Neon City Festival in Las Vegas to drop him. At the time, the festival called them “unforeseen circumstances,” but many fans were extremely skeptical.
Macklemore has made his stance on Palestine abundantly clear in various statements. But it’s never been clearer than on his song “Hind’s Hall 2”. There, he traced back the conflict in Palestine to a “genocide and it has been since 1948.”
“Long live the resistance if there’s something to resist / Had enough of you motherf*ckers murdering little kids,” Macklemore rapped. “But there’ll never be freedom by pleading with Zionists / World screaming Free Palestine / We see the manual, we know how you colonized.”
All proceeds from the song went to humanitarian efforts from the UNRWA.
(Photo by ARNAUD FINISTRE / AFP via Getty Images)
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