MACKLEMORE’S LONG-RUNNING support for Palestine has landed him at the centre of a row in the US after two appearances supporting Ed Sheeran.

The American rapper opened for Sheeran at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Friday and Saturday, using both performances to voice support for Palestinians.

His appearances have since prompted calls for him to be removed from Sheeran’s remaining US tour dates.

What did Macklemore say?

During Friday night’s performance, Macklemore chanted “Free Palestine”, wore a keffiyeh and told the crowd that he wanted people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to know “we have not forgotten about them”.

“I believe that every human being walking this earth deserves the exact same freedom,” the rapper said.

Macklemore also called for freedom for people in Cuba, Congo, Sudan and Iran, and described US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as a “terrorist organisation”.

Macklemore opened for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium wearing a keffiyeh, performed "Hind's Hall" with Gaza footage on the screens, and told 80,000 people he wanted those in Gaza and the West Bank to know "they have not been forgotten."

He said every human being deserves "the… pic.twitter.com/4J7fB1zEI4

— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 6, 2026

He performed his 2024 song Hind’s Hall as footage from Gaza and the occupied West Bank appeared on screens around the stadium, before repeating his pro-Palestinian message during Saturday’s concert.

Macklemore also directly addressed Jewish members of the audience.

“To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is criticism of you,” he said.

“My message is for peace, love and for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect and equality.”

He added that the main reason he had chosen to tour with Ed Sheeran was so “I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine”.

Why are there calls for him to be dropped?

The Israeli-American Council (IAC) has launched a petition calling on Sheeran and tour organisers to remove Macklemore from his remaining appearances.

There are 10 dates left across the US on Sheeran’s tour, and Macklemore is listed as a “special guest” for eight of them.

“This was an Ed Sheeran concert – not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event,” the lobby group’s petition states.

The IAC accused Macklemore of using “selective imagery, biased messaging, and disputed claims” and also took issue with his performance of Hind’s Hall.

The song takes its name from Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, which pro-Palestinian protesters occupied and renamed in memory of six-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2024.

Students pictured at Columbia University during the protest in 2024. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

The petition also asks whether Macklemore’s speech, visuals and performance were approved in advance.

“Freedom of expression does not mean freedom from responsibility,” it states.

“Your show. Your stage. Your responsibility.”

What has the wider reaction been?

The row has spread across social media, with some Jewish and pro-Israel figures arguing that people who bought tickets to see Sheeran could not have expected such a political intervention from his support act.

US-based Israeli advocate Jordyn Tilchen called for Jewish attendees to be offered refunds and went considerably further in describing the concert as a “Nazi rally”.

“Jewish people are not obligated to experience rhetoric they understand as calling for the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state as some benign prelude to their favourite love songs,” she wrote.

US pressure group StopAntisemitism, which has previously denounced Ireland as an “antisemitic cesspool”, has criticised Macklemore’s performance and called on Sheeran to apologise and issue refunds for the event. 

Pop singer Pink shared one of the organisation’s videos about the controversy on Instagram which pushed for Sheeran to apologise. 

Others have praised Macklemore’s activism. Belfast rap group Kneecap shared footage of Macklemore’s performance on social media with the caption: “Solidarity and all respect to Macklemore”.

“To the Zionist lobby if you call out genocide you’re labelled a terrorist – meanwhile they’re the ones cheering on a genocide and war crimes,” the trio added.

“Freedom for all oppressed people.”

There’s been no independent confirmation that Sheeran personally approved Macklemore’s speech or accompanying visuals in advance.

Has Macklemore spoken about Palestine before?

Yes, Macklemore has been a prominent supporter of Palestinians in recent years.

In October 2023, he was among the artists who signed an Artists4Ceasefire letter calling on then-US president Joe Biden for a ceasefire, the release of hostages and humanitarian aid for Gaza.

During a performance in Dublin in 2025, he said he has been “so proud” at how “my Irish brothers and sisters have shown up for the Palestinian people”. 

His advocacy became particularly prominent with the release of Hind’s Hall in May 2024. The song supported the pro-Palestinian student protest movement, condemned Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza and criticised the Biden administration’s support for Israel.

we don’t own the earth
don’t own the earth
we killing each other
over some lines in the dirt
we bleed the same blood
feel the same hurt
Palestinian life
does it have the same worth? pic.twitter.com/Yo4t7JpsxC

— Macklemore (@macklemore) September 27, 2024

Macklemore pledged proceeds from the track to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and later released Hind’s Hall 2 featuring Palestinian and Palestinian-American artists.

More than 67,000 Palestinians were killed by Israeli forces in Gaza by October 2025, according to the territory’s health ministry.

A US-brokered ceasefire came into effect that month, although violence has continued. Gaza’s health ministry says more than 1,300 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire began.

UN agency Unicef has also reported more than 300 children have been killed since the ceasefire.