Rapper Macklemore has been dropped as the opening act on Ed Sheeran’s tour after repeatedly calling for a “Free Palestine” during shows and performing his song “Hind’s Hall,” which criticizes Israel’s actions in Gaza. The removal set off a public argument online between people who praised the decision and those who called it censorship.
Actor Michael Rapaport, who is Jewish and has been outspoken in support of Israel, celebrated the news in a video posted to X on Monday.
“Macklemore don’t rap no more, you got kicked off the tour. That’s a better verse than anything you’ve done in your ridiculous career as a non-rapper,” Rapaport said.
Rapaport went on to criticize Macklemore’s onstage political statements, saying, “Now you can go back to your home in Washington State that’s on stolen land and take up an instrument. Take a dance class. Take a singing class. Learn how to tinkle the piano. Because when people come out to see a musical performer, you need to perform music, not spread bulls— lies about a fake genocide, a fake occupation and a fake apartheid. F— you, OK?”
He continued, telling Macklemore and his supporters to revisit footage from the Oct. 7 attacks, before ending the video with, “L’shana Tova!”
Fox News Digital said it reached out to Macklemore’s representation for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Earlier Criticism
This was not the first time Rapaport had criticized Macklemore over his political statements during the tour. He had previously reacted to a video in which Macklemore defended using concert stages to voice his views.
“A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” Macklemore said in the video. “I said, ‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”
Rapaport responded on social media at the time, writing that watching Macklemore perform was “a nightmare” and calling him a “no-talent non-singer, non-rapping, non-dancing clown” who was “jumping around like dkc carrying on about a genocide that never happened in Gaza.”
Personal Cost, Rapaport Says
Speaking on Craig Carton’s OutKick program “The Craig Carton Show,” Rapaport said his pro-Israel views have affected his career in 2026.
“No, the — yeah, the career stuff has been a problem,” Rapaport said. “There’s been an issue. The show’s being boycotted. Sucks. It doesn’t make anybody comfortable. It doesn’t make the club comfortable. It doesn’t make the other comedians comfortable.”
He also said he has faced verbal attacks and threats in New York City over his stance. “Anti-semitic, anti-Jewish stuff,” Rapaport said. “That hurts me, it embarrasses me, I don’t want any other Jewish people behind me to feel uncomfortable, or scared or hesitant to fight, stand up and be proud, however they do it.”
Not Everyone Agreed
Several public figures pushed back against the decision to remove Macklemore from the tour, including Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who wrote on X on Monday:
“Absolutely ridiculous position from an ultrazionist trump supporter, who’s been awarded by bb for combating israel’s critics. its clear that our billionaires are placing their emotional support apartheid state and its genocide over free expression. we must not let this happen,” Piker wrote.
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