Macklemore is responding to the backlash surrounding his pro-Palestinian remarks during Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour stop at MetLife Stadium. On September 7, the rapper shared video from his performance with the message, “Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial.”
During his set on September 4 and 5, Macklemore paused midway through his opening performance to address the more than 80,000-capacity stadium. He told the crowd that one of the reasons he joined Ed Sheeran’s tour was so he could stand inside American stadiums and say “Free Palestine,” repeating the phrase before saying he wanted people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
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The speech also became personal. Macklemore referenced his 11-year-old daughter Sloan, who was in the audience, and said he wanted her to grow up with safety and peace rather than violence. He described wanting her to experience laughter on a playground before the sound of planes and bombs, framing his remarks around the belief that every person deserves the same rights and dignity.
He then expanded his message beyond Palestine, calling for freedom for Cuba, Congo, Sudan and Iran, while also referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a “terrorist organization.” In at least one version of the speech, he addressed Jewish listeners directly, saying that criticism of Israel, apartheid or genocide was not criticism of Jewish people and describing his message as one of peace, love, dignity, respect and equality.
Macklemore followed the speech with “Hind’s Hall,” his 2024 protest song named after the Columbia University building occupied by pro-Palestinian student demonstrators. Concert screens displayed footage from Gaza, images of protests and encampments, and political messages as sections of the audience cheered and joined the chants.
The performance, however, also prompted an immediate backlash. Some Israeli and Jewish concertgoers said they felt ambushed by the political segment, while several groups reportedly left the stadium before Ed Sheeran’s headline set. No physical confrontations were reported.
The Israeli-American Council subsequently launched a petition calling on Ed Sheeran and the tour organizers to remove Macklemore from the remaining U.S. dates, arguing that the concert stage should not be used for what it characterized as a one-sided political agenda. As of September 7, neither Sheeran nor his team had publicly addressed the controversy.
Macklemore’s latest post places the MetLife performance within a much longer history of his public comments on Israel and Palestine. Critics have repeatedly revived a 2014 incident in which he appeared at Seattle’s Experience Music Project wearing a disguise that included a large prosthetic hooked nose, dark wig and fake beard. The look was criticized as resembling antisemitic caricatures; Macklemore later apologized and said he had not intended to invoke a Jewish stereotype. The Anti-Defamation League accepted his explanation while calling the costume an unfortunate choice.
That episode resurfaced following his October 2023 comments about the Gaza war and again after the release of “Hind’s Hall” in 2024.
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