The rapper, famous for bragging about “popping tags” on his famed “Thrift Shop” tune, is living on stolen native lands after he hijacked the spotlight at an Ed Sheeran concert with an anti-Israel rant.
Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, proudly called to “Free Palestine” and accused Israel of committing genocide at a New Jersey Meadowlands show last week.
“I wanted to stand up here on stages across America and say two words that are near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” the Grammy-winning rapper said as he wore a keffiyeh draped over his shoulders.
While he made the statements, his multimillion-dollar Seattle abode sat on stolen Native American land.
Haggerty owns a three-bedroom, 2.25-bathroom home in Seattle’s North Capitol Hill neighborhood and has lived there for more than a decade.
The North Capitol Hill neighborhood, like the rest of Seattle, is part of historic ancestral lands of native people.
“We acknowledge that the city of Seattle and its greenspaces are on stolen Coast Salish land, specifically the ancestral land of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Stillaguamish, and Muckleshoot People,” a land acknowledgement from the Green Seattle Partnership says.
“We recognize the stewardship of Seattle’s greenspaces by the Coast Salish people since time immemorial, the disruption of this work by colonization, and now endeavor to continue this work,” it added.
The artist has acknowledged his role in owning a home on stolen land. He’s also known for doing land acknowledgements before his concerts.
“I’m from Seattle, Washington, occupied Duwamish territory,” he said in a May 2024 LANDBACK FOR THE PEOPLE podcast episode.
The artist spouted an anti-Israel sentiment during his recent show with Sheeran in New Jersey, and the Israeli-American Council started a petition Sunday calling for Sheeran to drop the “Thrift Shop” singer from the remainder of his tour, accusing the rapper of spreading antisemitic propaganda.
The rapper also performed his song, “Hindi’s Hall,” a reference to the pro-Palestine protests at the Columbia University campus, while images from Gaza were played on giant screens.
Fellow artists PINK and Boy George have criticized Macklemore for his anti-Israel statements.
PINK reposted a StopAntisemitism post that called for all concertgoers to be refunded and said they are “owed apologies.”
Culture Club singer Boy George made a much longer condemnation of Macklemore.
“On the subject of @macklemore it’s important to note that slogans such as ‘Free Palestine’ offer the appearance of moral courage without requiring much political knowledge. @edsheeran clearly has no spine and as for @Palomafaith and her stupid virtuous squealing of delight about Mackle-bore when she is about as political as a soggy tuna sandwich. The whole thing makes me queasy,” he wrote on X.
Macklemore said Monday that his rant was not a criticism of Jewish people.
“To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, is in no way a criticism of you,” he said in a video posted to social media.
The “Can’t Hold Us” singer isn’t the only artist facing backlash over “stolen land” rhetoric.
Billie Eilish landed herself in hot water after declaring at the Grammys, “No one is illegal on stolen land.” Critics mocked the multimillionaire singer, with one urging her to “hand over the keys” to her Los Angeles property. Eilish bought a $2.3 million horse ranch in Glendale at 17; it previously belonged to British singer Leona Lewis.
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The post Macklemore accused of blatant hypocrisy after anti-Israel tirade — as secrets about his home revealed appeared first on New York Post.
