Macklemore used the opening night of his Free Palestine tour in Dublin to renew his pro-Palestinian activism, weeks after he was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour lineup over similar remarks.
“I am proud to stand here on stage in solidarity with the Palestinian people. We will continue to fight for collective liberation until our last breath,” Macklemore told the Dublin crowd, according to Reuters.
He referenced the controversy that followed his earlier “Free Palestine” comments, which led to his removal from Sheeran’s Loop Tour after an opening performance at MetLife Stadium in early September. “Six weeks ago, two words is all that it took,” he said.
“Those two words are so threatening to some people that we’d rather silence those two words than confront what they actually mean… Somehow those words have become more controversial than the suffering that made them necessary,” he added.
Mixed reaction online
The remarks drew a split response on social media. Some praised Macklemore’s willingness to use his platform, while others accused him of being out of touch with his audience and questioned his priorities.
One user described him as “so performative and bored,” while another wrote: “Imagine going to this and getting lectured by a person who is literally out of touch.”
“Macklemore should care as much about Americans on Skid Row. He could go down there or on any street in LA at this point, give some of his personal fortune away & save people,” one critic wrote.
Others were more supportive. “Thank goodness for the humanity and courage of artists like this,” one user wrote. “Free Palestine.”
Background with Sheeran
Macklemore, whose full name is Ben Haggerty, was removed from Sheeran’s U.S. tour following the backlash to his MetLife Stadium comments. Sheeran later said the decision had come from the concert promoter and venues rather than from him personally, and described himself as “appalled” by the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling the suffering on both sides “a human tragedy” in an Instagram statement.
Macklemore had earlier accused Sheeran and tour organisers of sidelining him, claiming Sheeran told him that Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, had rallied other stadium owners against letting him perform.
The Free Palestine tour, which launched in Dublin on Monday, is next scheduled to continue in Paris and London. U.S. dates have not yet been announced.
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