Macklemore Responds to Backlash Over ‘Free Palestine’ Chant at Ed Sheeran Show: ‘Wanting All Humans to be Treated Equal Should Never Be Controversial’

Macklemore is not backing down from the “Free Palestine” statements he made during opening slots on Ed Sheeran‘s Loop tour over the weekend. After facing backlash from Jewish organizations and from several other artists for chanting “Free Palestine” on stage during his sets on Friday (Sept. 4) and Saturday (Sept. 5) at Sheeran’s gigs at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, Macklemore (born Benjamin Haggerty), posted “Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial,” on X, along with video of his speech from Saturday’s show.

The 43-year-old “Thrift Shop” rapper courted controversy during his first opening set on Friday, when he told the crowd, “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.’ I said, ‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people from Gaza all the way to the West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”

During his set, he also performed his 2024 protest song, “Hind’s Hall,” whose title references the renaming of a building at Columbia University to Hind’s Hall in honor of five-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip. The song supports pro-Palestinian protest efforts on university campuses and calls for an end to the Gaza war.

His remarks ended with Macklemore confronting his fears about his decision to speak out on such a large platform in front of 89,000-plus Sheeran fans. “And if I let that fear I felt on the plane yesterday stop me from speaking my heart in order to keep my own comfort and the audience’s comfort, that is the day I no longer continue to be on stage,” he said. “So, I say ‘Free Palestine!’ I say, free America, free Cuba to the Congo to Sudan to Iran, and all the people in America who have to live in fear because of this terrorist organization ICE.”

The initial comments drew commentary from the Israeli-American Council (IAC), which launched a petition calling for the rapper to be removed from the next eight U.S. stadium shows he’s slated to open for Sheeran through early November.

“This was an Ed Sheeran concert – not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event,” the IAC’s petition reads. “The issue is not whether Macklemore has the right to hold political views. The question is where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda. This becomes even more troubling when the message relies on selective imagery, biased messaging, and disputed claims presented to a massive audience as fact, without context or complexity.”

Macklemore restated his position at Saturday’s show, again chanting “Free Palestine,” and adding, “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. So I say Free Palestine, I say Free Lebanon, I say Free Cuba, I say Free Congo, Free Sudan, I say Free all people in America living in fear of this terrorist organization, ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.”

Israel has denied it is committing genocide in its nearly three-year war against Hamas following the Palestinian militant organization’s murderous invasion of the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023, in which it killed nearly 2,000 Israelis and foreign nationals and took more than 250 hostages. To date, a reported 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory strikes, which have destroyed much of the infrastructure in the territory and left nearly 174,000 wounded.

Macklemore’s statements have drawn criticism from several fellow artists, including P!nk, who reposted an Instagram Story from StopAntisemitism over the weekend — without any personal commentary — that, according to TMZ, criticized the performance and called for attendees to have their tickets refunded, saying they were “owed apologies.”

In addition, Culture Club singer and solo performer Boy George, who recently released the AI-generated pro-Israel reggae song “We Will Dance Again,” posted an AI-generated image of Sheeran wearing a T-shirt reading, “Whack Mack No More,” while doubling down on X with the message, “I have never been an @EdSheeran fan and nothing has changed.”

At press time it did not appear as if Sheeran had responded to Macklemore’s statements or the reaction to them and a spokesperson for the singer had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment.