Rapper Macklemore is a vocal supporter of Palestine and Gaza residents. During a recent concert at MetLife Stadium, he yelled “Free Palestine!” onstage, projected images of devastation in the area, and performed protest song “Hind’s Hall.”
Now, it seems that American venues are not willing to play ball with the Seattle artist, and he has been dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour.
“After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates,” according to Messina Touring Group, the promoter of Loop Tour. This news follows backlash from organizations like StopAntisemitism and others, such as pop star Pink.
I’ve seen AJR in tour twice. Once in 2022 when they did their OK Orchestra Tour. There’s a song in there called “3 O’clock Things”. The lyrics at the end of the song are:
Isn’t this obvious, am I insane? Let’s blame our parents ‘cause they taught us their ways Stay out of politics, stay on the fence Stay out of all of it to keep half your fans Isn’t this obvious, am I insane? There might be two side to everything that you say It’s all a bit cloudy, but there’s one thing I know That if you’re fucking racist then don’t come to my show.
Then a breakdown and everyone in the crowd screamed that line.
AJR is definitely not as big as Ed Sheeran, but they have been very open about supporting the left, performing at Joe Biden’s inauguration and refusing to go to Trump’s. I wish more artists had a backbone. It’s not like you’re going to be poor and broke. They have all the leverage. It would be so easy for them to make a change.
Kudos to Macklemore, and for shame to Sheeran
What a spineless, snivelling Zionist bootlicker Ed Sheeran turned out to be.
Ed Sheeran here had a chance to be a hero to everyone who believes in humanity and human rights. He could have cancelled the tour for all the venues being explicitly pro-genocide and moved the concerts to other venues in the area. He would have made less money, yes. It would cost him a few fans, but he would’ve gained so many mlre. Instead he caved like a building built out of cotton candy in a short rain shower. And now I’ve sanitized my playlists from p!NK and Ed Sheeran music, these two have shown themselves to have no values. P!NK being the worst by far by actively picking the side of the oppressor. I’m done with her. Fuck Israel. Free Palestine one hundred times!
At the moment macklemore only has a single performance lined up. But maybe we should put our money where our outrage is and keep an eye on https://macklemore.com/shows/
Ed Sheeran could have done the better thing and used his platform for good hadn’t he been a spineless coward.
Macklemore made a banger about being thrifty.
He’s good folk, it turns out.
So Ed Sheeran is a piece of shit, eh?
According to Macklemore, Sheeran was told by venues to cut him, or cancel the whole tour. Sheeran tries to remain non-political as part of his brand. But it really feels like we’re up against the sad point where, if just saying “don’t genocide people” makes you “political”, then refusing to be political makes you a piece of shit.
I think a lot of artists are still riding this line between staying safe and potentially nuking their entire career. I won’t act like that’s an easy decision for anyone to make, but obviously looking from the outside it’s easy to see what the right decision is.
Time will tell. There’s still time for Ed to walk out on stage at his biggest show of the tour, throw a fist in the air, and say Free Palestine. I’ve had zero thoughts about him up until this point, but that would at least give me one shred of respect for him.
Sheeran tries to remain non-political as part of his brand.
Yeah that’s bullshit. And there’s no such thing as being “neutral”, you’re just choosing the side of the oppressor.
There’s still time for Ed to walk out on stage at his biggest show of the tour, throw a fist in the air, and say Free Palestine.
Honestly, this would flip the tables on the venues (ahem, LiveNation)…they’re ok throwing their weight around to get Macklemore dropped from tours, but Ed Sheeran is making them tens of millions of dollars…they would probably shut the fuck up if he did this.
Adam Sandler: He’s not going to though
Chris Farley: No, but you can imagine what it would be like if he did.
“American Venues”
Not sure who’s calling the shots here
EDIT:
The rapper alleges that Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft gave Sheeran an ultimatum.
Nothing says “good guy” like compromising your principles for money, right? tf is your argument here?
It’s likely not up to him as he has contractual obligations that could ruin more than just his own livelihood.
The whole system is fucked. Rotten to the core
EDIT: these replies are peak left self harm.
Macklemore: free Palestine
NFL Stadium Owners: drop Macklemore or we’ll cancel your show
label and tour management: we can’t lose all these venues, so Macklemore has to go
Lemmy community: how could Ed Sheeran do this??
Like, how about we point our anger at the people actually causing the problem, instead of the guy trying to salvage his tour in a no-win situation because of racist fucks
Ed Sheeran has an estimated net worth of around $350 million to $400 million
Won’t somebody think of the millionaires? His whole livelihood is at stake here!
And it’s not like his livelihood is even at massive risk - he’s a big enough name that any arena worth his time to perform at will be big enough that there won’t be other acts available that will sell enough seats at short notice, so they’re pretty likely to cave if he puts his foot down.
THIS is the part that gets me. Ed could have come at Kraft and the other venue owners and threw some hate to ticketmaster for good measure and probably come out fine
I don’t really care about him, but this line of thinking creates assumptions and expectations that are almost never going to be met. He is one of the wealthiest musicians, he isn’t just a performer, he is a businessman. If he was willing to risk or limit the success of his brand for his views (assuming his views are pro palestine), he probably wouldn’t be in the position he is in.
At the end of the day, it is a mainly systemic issue, not an issue of moral failiure. Some individuals will push against the systemic currents, but this will always be the exception, not the rule.
The only way to combat systemic issue is by changing/replacing the system through collective action, not individual action. Ed Sheeran chancling his tour in solidarity with Palestine would not stop western nations from supporting israel. The only way is a nations citizens collectively applying pressure.
If becoming one of the world’s wealthiest musicians requires prioritisation of your brand over improving the world in ways you absolutely have the power to do, then becoming a wealthy musician is absolutely a sign of moral failure. It’s also not even necessarily detrimental to the brand to associate it with acting morally - that only made Dolly Parton more beloved.
Macklemore did it, why can’t Sheeran do it too? Because he either doesn’t hold these views, or he likes money more. Simple.
You can even use the publicity of being cancelled to talk more about the issue. It’s not hard when you have a spine.
Did you not read the part where I said “more than his own livelihood”? Or did you just choose to ignore it?
There are so many more people than just Ed Sheeran who would be hurt by him breaching his contract. Everyone working that tour would be hurt. Likely hundreds of people who are doing gig work for this tour.
That’s so American: 100’s of Americans might lose their paycheck, so we can’t do anything to protest the 1000’s of non-Americans getting killed.
please quote where I said “do nothing”.
because “don’t do this” is not the same as “do nothing”
Why would Ed Sheeran be breaching a contract if he hadn’t caved? The arena owners were threatening to refuse to let him play, they would have been them in breach of contract, not him.
source on that please?
Everyone working that tour would be hurt.
Stop FUDing, they’d get another gig, it’s literally their job.
yeah I mean who cares about people losing their jobs, you just go get another one, easy 🤡
And the truck & bus drivers, catering, roadies, grips, crew, wardrobe, sound guys. You think he puts in all the work himself?
Listen I’m not defending Ed Sheeran’s decision here but don’t forget it’s not always about JUST his money - he personally knows a shitload of people who are going to lose their next 18 months’ income without much recourse if he bails now, who aren’t millionaires. Tour work is literally gig work.
Sheeran has more than enough money to pay those people out of pocket for any dates that canceled.
And the truck & bus drivers, catering, roadies, grips, crew, wardrobe, sound guys. You think he puts in all the work himself?
No. You think they only work for him?
Yup. People seem to be ignoring the part where I specifically said “more than his own livelihood”.
And this isn’t even touching on the impact to future contracts. Venues and other businesses don’t want to sign contracts with people who have shown a willingness to breach agreements for personal or political reasons.
It doesn’t even sound like it’s his decision. Seriously, how much agency do people really think musicians have over their performances, venues, lineups, etc.? That’s all handled by record labels, agents, managers, etc.
If the venue says “not so-and-so” and the record label says “okay,” there’s literally jack-shit that the headliner can do about it…
He has enough of a name to start his own label.
Those same contractual obligations should apply to the stadium owners.
Is he responsible for his obligations if the stadium refuses him? Sounds to me like he would have made an effort to meet his contract, but someone else refused him.
Honest question, I have no idea how these things work, but have a hard time believing Sheeran had no choice but to give in
Separate contracts. Sheeran’s contract and Macklemore’s contract are unlikely to be contingent on each other. Plus there are probably terms in the contract regarding conditions under which the venue is allowed to break the contract “for cause” which Macklemore’s situation likely breaches
I would tell the “system” to get bent. Ed Sheeran doesn’t have to do anything. It’s his tour, if they don’t want to allow him to perform over human rights, that’s on them.
If this is true, I’m going to remove every Ed Sheeran song from my music library.
good thing the earth is so tiny and most of the universe completely misses this shit.
Okay, bear with me here but, if I’ve gotten this right (good probability I haven’t), if we divide the earth’s mass of ~6 x 1024 kg by the estimated total mass of the observable universe, ~3 x 1052 kg, Earth represents 0000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000 00000000001% of the total mass of the observable universe.
I’d say that effectively, though not technically, none of our absolute fuckery has any impact on Big Universe, if only by mass comparison. Thank fuck.
Because Ed could personally payout all of the staff working on the tour and cancel it. Because “Staying Neutral” is really just siding with oppressors. Because in a no-won situation you want to support the people who are currently being genocided and not venues paying you big bucks to keep quiet.
You are right we should be calling out the people actually causing the problem, but Eds decision actively helps them continue causing said problem.
If the venue is giving him an ultimatum then he clearly has the agency to tell them no. Otherwise they would be executing the contract not making demands.
Macklemore was quite clear in his post: He blames Robert Kraft and not Ed
If Robert Kraft and the other stadium owners break tour contracts over a “we don’t like your opener” thing after they already signed, it’ll be huge fees and possibly a lawsuit. Ed Sheeran had leverage here and he didn’t use it.
His record label had the leverage and chose not to use it. There’s very little say the artists themselves actually have in these kinds of things.
This isn’t some starving artist we’re talking about here. This guy already has more money than you’ll make in your entire life working an honest job.
Does that give him any more agency in what transpires between his record label and the venues where he’s booked?
Yes it does. His fan base is what shows up and pays money in the first place.
He already has a name, time to cut loose?
All them big name artists could put their money where their mouth isn’t and build a venue, i’m sure it wouldn’t make Bono any poorer.This is, actually not a bad idea. Someone send this to someone like Jack White. Get together a bunch of top musicians to actually fund the creation of a network of publicly owned venues. They can share resources and even pay artists real wages for performances. Call it a public option. Just needs the seed money
You realize their record labels hold all their IP, don’t you? So they cut loose and go indie and build a venue. What happens when their old label tells them they can’t play any of their music?
Didn’t Taylor Swift have similar issues?
I’m guessing bad publicity would be a deterrent for those labels. I guess poor ol’ Ed would have to create new stuff too.
It’s not like Macklemore has been quiet about his stance on Palestine. If it were a problem with Ed Sheeran, he probably wouldn’t have been on the tour in the first place.
Yeah but Sheeran is willing to bend the knee to keep the tour going. A real one would apologize to fans and let it be known it’s the venue owners cancelling shows and why.
It’s not like he’s some Indy act who won’t get more shows.
Ed Sheeran would never play the United States again if he pissed off Robert Kraft and the stadium owners (and LiveNation along with them).
Glad the US isn’t the world (unless you’re murican).
Sometimes it’s about more than money. There’s plenty of non stadium venues he could still tour at.
Ed is a brand, not a talent.
Watch. If he had refused to go on without Macklemore, these guys would’ve said “oh the rich baby didn’t want to go on because Macklemore said Palestine” or some shit.
Blame the rich fucks for their crimes; don’t invent new catch-22s to hang on them.
If “these guys” you’re talking about are Zionists, then I don’t think he should care what kind of vitriol they try to brew up for him. In fact, pissing them off is often the correct stance.
…and then Sheeran chose wrong.
So a piece of shit
zionists are calling the shots in “american venues”
That was my thought exactly!
I know precious little about him, but he sounds like a real dick.
Robert Kraft is the piece of shit here
It seems like it’s the venues that won’t let Mackelmore play.
“After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates,”
From the tour promoters.
and Sheeran should refuse to work with those stakeholders
He might be contractually obligated to with significant penalties if he drops. Without knowing the contract it’s hard to tell. He might not even be able to get out of it by doing what Mackelmore did.
But it doesn’t look like he’s made a statement on it yet.
Ah yes, the most important part of music: stakeholders.
The articles made it seem like the venues forced Sheeran to drop macklemore. Sheeran may not have had a say.
He could tell the venues if they wanted to cancel his opening acts, they could cancel his show, too. That would require someone to have principles, though. 🤷♂️
he can play somewhere else
I realize that the state of touring venues is pretty fucked up, but someone with his sway is the only kind of person who can say “you know what, no, fuck you guys”
He sounds famous. I think he has some say. Of course so do venues, but I’d expect Ed Sheeran to have no problem finding other venues.
My conclusion from this is that Ed Sheeran supports genocide and that Macklemore is cooler than I thought.
a piece of shit for ditching a racist?
oh you’re ok with the racist i get it
Dixie Chicks all over again
Macklemore the goat!
Been going back through and listening to a lot of rap from early 2010s, and I forgot how wonderful and outspoken a lot of them are. Lupe was speaking out against the bombings in gaza since Obama was in office.
Speaking up for Palestine isn’t antisemitism.
Saying that Israel is a genocidal country isn’t antisemitism either.
StopAntisemitism criticised the rapper, saying “Jewish fans bought tickets to see Ed Sheeran sing… not to be ambushed by Macklemore’s anti-Israel propaganda.”
The next night, Macklemore returned to the same stage and directly addressed his “Jewish brothers and sisters” in the audience.
“Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, is in no way a criticism of you,”
Given that the Palestinian people are Semitic people themselves, I would say that systematically destroying their lives, homes, and culture is more antisemitic than any combination of words that any person could ever string together.
There are no “semitic people”. It’s a racist term coined by some German dude ages ago and it has no scientific value at all. Stop making antisemitism about Palestinians.
This is true, although, I’m not sure what you mean by that last part.
The term anti-Semitic itself is racist as there are no people of “Shem”. The concept is a weird mashup of those native to the Levant and those who follow the Jewish religion or culture. Anti-Jewish would be a way better descriptor over antisemitic, but Zionists love the term antisemitic as it creates a false impression that their enthonational religious claims over the Levant are historically founded over the native Palestinian population.
It’s simply a term that’s historically developed because some German assholes called themselves “Antisemiten”. The term “racism” is equally flawed as it implies the existence of human races.
From what I understand, that flaw can be lessened (not voided) by using sociology instead of eugenics/pseudobiology. So-called “races” as social constructs, or “perceived races” are less based on discrimination. This concepts can instead describe the existing discrimination. That does not nullify your point, by the way, it just dampens the flaw you pointed to.
It also plays into the whole “the holocaust was so special that it may never be put in comparison to genocides we commit today or in the future”.
I think it’s more about shining a light on the stupidity of it all?
If there are no Semitic people, then there are no Palestinians.
Ignorant comment. “Semitic people” is in the same intellectual genealogy as “Aryan people”, the terms were proposed as opposites. There are semitic languages and the term “aryan languages” is not entirely discredited (it appears as “Indo-Aryan” and refers to a subfamily of Indo-European languages). But nothing about any of this has to do with the existence of the Palestinian people and nation which is a political fact regardless of biological or linguistic lineages.
It all boils down to race talk eventually, no matter what intellectual gymnastics you perform. One label is as good as another in that game. Arabs learned well from Hilter’s ideas after WW2. Whether you want to discuss the “people of Palestine” or “the Palestinian People”, then Jews, Christians, Moslems, Turks, Babylonians (and their descendents…), Romans from the Italian peninsula, Greeks, Western Europeans from the middle ages… all must be considered in the mix and none excluded for any reason. All have either lived or owned/possessed the land for centuries, across various eras in history.
That’s a load of 19th century bullshit. The Palestinians are a People because they share a series of attributes (language, kinship, culture, common historical narratives and a shared political national project) and use those shared attributes to self identify as a People. That’s it, none of the other crap.
and use those shared attributes to self identify as a People.
Go ahead, create your own delusional thought bubble and language that supports it.
if the rest of the world doesn’t see it your way then it still avails you nothing.
consider the example of ISIL for recent insights on how this will end for those who engage in creating imaginary worlds for themselves… inside of thought bubbles .
Genetic testing has shown that the Palestinians are, by and large, Canaanites.
They are by default a semitic people.
Ed is a fucking coward, this is known
Stokeholders?
The stakeholder has a name.
Macklemore has been dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour after he says New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft organized a boycott among stadium owners over the rapper’s remarks in support of Palestinians.
Awful nice of the corporate media outlet to hide the name of one side while blasting the other.
I’m surprised Bobby Kraft wasn’t too busy getting a rub ‘n tug from a massage joint
He was expecting to have his shit nepo child running the city of Boston and building him a stadium. Sine he obviously lost kraft needs to spend his free time doing something since his best buddy epstine isn’t around to keep him busy with unfettered access to poor people’s kids.
I don’t know how they could plead not guilty when they have video footage of him getting tugged and blown on two separate occasions, they recorded his car and plate and did a ruse traffic stop on him to get him to provide his ID to an officer in the car
We live in a oligarchy and he’s a billionaire. Also the population has the working memory of a gnat and have no concept of boycotting anything. Especially if it could cause the slightest inconvenience.
The cops were locked in 100% that it was trafficking until the billionaire was caught in the web then it was all misunderstandings and mistakes. And no, it’s not conspiracy that the ladies all got enough money to not talk. A fucking billionaire doesn’t go to jail because our society would rather lick their feet.
Fuck Robert Kraft and his cock-puppet, Ed Sheeran.
I’m eagerly awaiting the free speech defenders of the right to take up this cause!
Money is classified as free speech.
Robert Kraft is using his free speech to bribe Ed into censoring his friend and supporting artist.
You won’t find them here on Lemmy lol
That’s why I like this place so much. We’re all crazy and fight with each other all the time, but unlike other platforms like YouTube and Reddit, at least here we can all agree that human beings deserve basic rights! (for the most part lol)
at least here we can all agree that human beings deserve basic rights!
until they reveal themselves to be a fascist, of course, for example by endorsing a democratic candidate for US president
Yes, Kamala voters in the US are truly the most vicitimized people in the world today
“Free Speech” was only ever about screaming the N-word in the middle of your State Uni quad, while wearing your Red Cap and waving an American Flag.
