Macklemore Faces Backlash After Chanting “Free Palestine” at Ed Sheeran’s MetLife Stadium Shows

Macklemore faced backlash after chanting “Free Palestine” during opening slots on Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Friday (Sept. 4) and Saturday (Sept. 5), with the controversy tied to his remarks about Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

“say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine.’”

Billboard

On Friday, the 43-year-old “Thrift Shop” rapper 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.’”

Al Jazeera

During his Saturday set, Macklemore posted on X that “Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial,” alongside video of his speech, and he performed his 2024 protest song “Hind’s Hall,” which calls for an end to the Gaza war.

The dispute also drew a petition from the Israeli-American Council urging Sheeran to remove Macklemore from the next eight U.S. stadium shows he’s slated to open through early November, framing the event as “an Ed Sheeran concert – not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event.”

The Israeli-American Council’s petition argued that the issue was “where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda,” and it said Macklemore’s message relied on “selective imagery, biased messaging, and disputed claims presented to a massive audience as fact, without context or complexity.”

Macklemore responded by directly addressing Jewish listeners during his Saturday show, saying, “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.”

BBC

BBC reported that Macklemore said his “Free Palestine” call was not intended as an attack on Jewish people, while the BBC also noted that Israel rejects allegations of genocide and says its troops conduct self-defence operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in accordance with international law.B

The backlash extended beyond the petition, with TMZ reporting that Pink reposted a StopAntisemitism Instagram Story calling the situation “awful” and saying concertgoers are “owed apologies,” while the BBC said some ticket buyers posted messages addressed to Sheeran on social media criticising Macklemore’s involvement.B

The petition’s demand put pressure on Ed Sheeran’s tour team, with International Business Times UK saying there was “no public announcement that Macklemore has been removed” and that Sheeran’s official tour schedule continues to list Macklemore as a supporting act for upcoming U.S. dates including Philadelphia, Foxborough, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Arlington and Tampa.

“There has been no public announcement that Macklemore has been removed”

International Business Times UK

BBC also reported that Sheeran had not publicly responded to the calls for Macklemore to be removed, and it said BBC News had asked representatives for Ed Sheeran for a response to the calls.B

In the broader Gaza context cited by the BBC, Israel launched a campaign in Gaza after the Oct. B7, 2023 Hamas-led attack, and the BBC said more than 73,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza since then, with more than 1,300 since a ceasefire declared on 10 October 2025, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.B

As the dispute continued, Macklemore’s remarks remained tied to the war’s framing in his own statements, including his Saturday conclusion, “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.”