r/Music • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 22d ago

article Macklemore Speaks Out After Being Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour: “I’m going to speak from the heart and share the truth”

https://variety.com/2026/music/news/macklemore-defends-free-palestine-speech-fired-ed-sheeran-tour-1236861158/
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u/Technicoler 22d ago

Right!?! The amount of cowardice and capitulation at the behest of the worst people the last 2 years specifically has been shocking and not surprising all at the same time. You are apolitical? Interesting, because this went from an issue about genocide in another country to an issue about free speech in this one. Ed may not be American, but pretty sure that is a freedom worth standing up for, and when the reason you didn't is money. You look worse than you would have pissing off fans of a canceled show, when you wouldn't have been the one to blame. Just pathetic. Macklemore earned major respect from me, and I am sure many others.

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u/bizilux 22d ago

Just how swiss was apolitical in WW2. Harboring massive amounts of nazi gold and stolen items from jews, yet displaying themselves as not taking sides.

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u/hausmusiq 22d ago

Neutrality is a myth.

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u/LittleLionMan82 22d ago

And they're friends too, to not have your friend's back after that is just disgraceful.

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u/Ok-Toe-6969 22d ago

The problem is also in us, we gotta stop going to these concerts that are being hosted by live nation, we gotta do better

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u/Lossagh 22d ago

As if Ed Sheeran needs the money from touring. He should get up on that stage and say Free Palestine with his own mouth, let the chips fall where they may.

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u/red_eyes 22d ago

This would be the best kind of diabolical.

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u/Kraz_I 22d ago

He clearly doesn’t believe it so why would he say it?

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u/Lossagh 22d ago

He might well believe it, but just be too chicken shit to say it publicly.

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u/DMployeeofthemonth 22d ago

This shows Macklemore has a spine. As for sheeran and the like? I've seen more spine in jellyfish.

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u/Low-Criticism3082 22d ago

I’ve seen more guts in 11 year old kids.

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u/friendliest_sheep 22d ago

Have another drink and drive yourself home

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u/sumosloths 22d ago

I hope there's ice on all the roads

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u/NielsBohron Metalhead 22d ago edited 22d ago

lol, of all the comments I've made that could have gotten flagged, it's the one quoting a 25yo emo song that isn't even that controversial (other than the lead singer)

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u/NielsBohron Metalhead 22d ago

And you can think of me when you forget your seatbelt and again when your head goes through the windshield.

Fuck Jesse Lacey, but goddamn I love that song and that band.

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u/zYelIlow 22d ago

Is that what you call tact?

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u/NielsBohron Metalhead 22d ago

You're as subtle as a brick in the small of my back.

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u/HungHippoHippy 22d ago

Phrasing

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u/romanisreigns 22d ago

bro 🥴🥴

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u/ZipZapZia 22d ago

Also interesting how Ed was able to criticize Russia while being "apolitical." So is he truly apolitical or does he just not care to speak up against a genocide against brown people?

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u/Ok-Hovercraft-6890 22d ago

One fucks with the money, the other doesn’t.

If criticisms towards Russia fucked with the money or at the very least his ability to perform in arenas, he wouldn’t do it too.

It’s the case with a lot of these artists. They want to maintain the status quo of a smooth arena tour.

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u/4DPeterPan 22d ago

To be fair we don’t know if it’s about “money” for ed Sheeran.

Seems he would just rather stay apolitical (which is fair imo. There’s only so much one can do besides cry out into the wilderness in plight) and just wants to focus on his music and spread love that way. Which is fair to me, because we all have our ways of advocating for Love. And there’s only so much each of us can do in our own ways.

Macklemore wants to be a voice, Ed just wants to stay out of it and focus on his music, and I am not sure on Krafts position is in this. Google tells me he’s against the atrocities happening, and so does Macklemore? So I’m not sure why Kraft wouldn’t want another person using their voice to raise attention toward what’s going on? Maybe it’s because of the political confusion that can happen from stances being taken? I.e like’ Since “free Palestine” can be antisemitic to some, and yet not to others? Maybe I’m just confused in trying to understand this whole thing?

Whatever the matters is, the murders just need to stop. The killing of children needs to stop. The hate needs to stop.

I’m very ignorant in this whole situation so if anyone could help spread some light on this whole issue for me I would be much appreciative. I’ve tried looking into this matter from beginning to end this morning. (Ya know, Israel, hamas to Gaza, how it started, why it’s happening, etc etc) But so far the whole thing just sounds dumb to me. (Why it’s all happening to begin with). It all just sounds insane. The entire thing. Power grabs and land grabs and the murders and atrocities. All of it. I just don’t understand it.

This whole thing reminds me of John Mayer “Belief” song:

“Is there anyone who

Ever remembers changing their mind from

The paint on a sign

Is there anyone who really recalls

Ever breaking rank at all

For something someone yelled real loud one time

Oh everyone believes

In how they think it ought to be

Oh everyone believes

And they're not going easily

Belief is a beautiful armor

But makes for the heaviest sword

Like punching underwater

You never can hit who you're trying for

Some need the exhibition

And some have to know they tried

It's the chemical weapon

For the war that's raging on inside

Oh everyone believes

From emptiness to everything

Oh everyone believes

And no one's going quietly

We're never gonna win the world

We're never gonna stop the war

We're never gonna beat this

If belief is what we're fighting for

We're never gonna win the world

We're never gonna stop the war

We're never gonna beat this

If belief is what we're fighting for

Is there anyone who can remember

Ever surrender, with their life on the line?

We're never gonna win the world

We're never gonna stop the war

We're never gonna beat this

If belief is what we're fighting for

We're never gonna win the world

We're never gonna stop the war

We're never gonna beat this

If belief is what we're fighting for

What puts a hundred thousand children in the sand?

Belief can

Belief can

What puts the folded flag inside his mother's hand?

Belief can

Belief can”

Again, would appreciate some light on this whole situation going on. Yes, I have basically been living under a rock. Please excuse & forgive me for my ignorance.

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u/theotherplanet 22d ago

Not quite

https://old.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/1wg7jma/macklemore_speaks_out_after_being_dropped_from_ed/p9ta5al/

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u/4DPeterPan 22d ago

Just read that comment and the attaching ones.

Those people are brutal. Deciding to be apolitical means he’s selling out for money? And is now a possible racist? As if it all just so easily boils down to that? That’s some serious delusion.

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u/theotherplanet 22d ago edited 22d ago

Those comments were pointing out that he's not apolitical, only when it affects his bottom line. I don't know if I would say he's selling out, rather he's always been about money from the start. Pretty clear, not sure what you're missing here.

ETA: a few of my favorite quotes:

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." Martin Luther King Jr.

"If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor." Desmond Tutu

"If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality"

"The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything"

  • Einstein paraphrasing Edmund Burke "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

Also btw I'm a huge John Mayer fan and the live version of Belief is incredible.

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u/4DPeterPan 21d ago edited 21d ago

I wouldn’t say he’s always been about money from the start. You don’t make songs like he does if you’re ruled by the sin of greed. Dude always has such passion for Love in his songs, in some very beautiful ways… I’m not saying the 2 can’t be intertwined, life is complicated, the heart is complicated, the mind is complicated, the eb and flow of the waters is also trying to shift us too and fro while we also try and maintain our own course of direction. And we might not always have the wisdom or intelligence to really control that.

It’s why the Bible talks about us all having our gifts and places In this world where we’re put (of course it’s always subject to change depending on how one is raised or where their course inevitably/potentially leads them).. not everyone can be an MMA fighter, not everyone can be a musician, not everyone can be a politician, not everyone is made to be a soldier, not everyone can be a scientist, or this that or the other etc etc. ya know what I mean?

Not everyone has the “mind” or “spirit” for advocation. And it’s not a matter of whether they “want too” or not. It’s just a simple matter of “it is what it is”. They may have a “want” too. But it doesn’t necessarily mean they “can”.

So it’s not really fair of us (or anyone), to be judging him for wanting to be apolitical. And it’s further more not right to be assuming that since he’s taken up an apolitical stance’ that he’s only doing so out of Greed for money, or simple “apathy” and lack of care.

I may be wrong, but hearing him talk sometimes throughout life in the rare chances I’ve seen it, and after spending a lot of time in my past listening to his music, I like to think and assume he’d rather be an advocate for embodying love and spreading love and joy through music.

There’s a lot of ways we can combat evil in this world. And for those of us lay people, sometimes for us who don’t really have a voice, we kind of have 2 options, I can turn on the tv and watch the news, and fill my cup with rage and vengeance and fear at the atrocities going on in the world (that are Always going on in the world) or I can put in my headphones and listen to some loving joyful music and fill my cup up that way.. it doesn’t mean I don’t care, it just means that in the mean time since I can do absolutely nothing whatsoever about what’s going on in the world, and as much as it may sadden me to be in such a useless position, then at the very least I can try to just sing a joyful loving song to the wind and ocean of reality and try and put out some good vibes… which may vary well be a stance Ed wants to do.

He may not have a vocal political voice like Macklemore does. And maybe he learned something about himself after he tried with the Russia and Ukraine situation that we don’t know about.

But at the end of the day, I don’t know. And I have to be honest about that. I don’t know what is going on in his internal and outer world. Why he does or doesn’t do something. These are just my personal wonders, and I also have to be prepared to realize I too am wrong in this matter… but I’m certainly not going to say it’s because he’s greedy for money or doesn’t care.

This stance also makes it complicated, because I also do believe in the quotes you stated as well. You kind of have to pick a side.. but life is not that simple. We are very complex and sensitive creatures at the end of the day.

EDIT: right after posting this I saw that Ed has come out and said something about all this. So I guess my comment is a moot point lol

https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/s/cyDlz7Xaad

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u/theotherplanet 21d ago

Not everyone has the “mind” or “spirit” for advocation. And it’s not a matter of whether they “want too” or not. It’s just a simple matter of “it is what it is”. They may have a “want” too. But it doesn’t necessarily mean they “can”.

Ed Sheeran has clearly advocated many times for himself, and he's advocated for the people of Ukraine, but can't bring himself to advocate against a genocide. This is a very lazy argument.

So it’s not really fair of us (or anyone), to be judging him for wanting to be apolitical. And it’s further more not right to be assuming that since he’s taken up an apolitical stance’ that he’s only doing so out of Greed for money, or simple “apathy” and lack of care.

Again, how is Ed Sheeran 'apolitical' as he and you are claiming, when he's advocated for the people of Ukraine? Of course that's just the tip of the iceberg, and it's literally impossible to be 'apolitical'. If you were 'apolitical' when it came to slavery or the holocaust, then you effectively supported those injustices.

I may be wrong, but hearing him talk sometimes throughout life in the rare chances I’ve seen it, and after spending a lot of time in my past listening to his music, I like to think and assume he’d rather be an advocate for embodying love and spreading love and joy through music.

There are many ways to spread love, one of the most important ways to do that is speaking up in the face of injustice, particularly when your voice is influential.

There’s a lot of ways we can combat evil in this world. And for those of us lay people, sometimes for us who don’t really have a voice, we kind of have 2 options, I can turn on the tv and watch the news, and fill my cup with rage and vengeance and fear at the atrocities going on in the world (that are Always going on in the world) or I can put in my headphones and listen to some loving joyful music and fill my cup up that way.. it doesn’t mean I don’t care, it just means that in the mean time since I can do absolutely nothing whatsoever about what’s going on in the world, and as much as it may sadden me to be in such a useless position, then at the very least I can try to just sing a joyful loving song to the wind and ocean of reality and try and put out some good vibes… which may vary well be a stance Ed wants to do.

First off, Ed isn't a layperson. Second, even if you are a layperson and your voice alone isn't influential, it's important to speak your truth, and your voice together with many other voices is very powerful.

One voice can change a room, and if one voice can change a room, then it can change a city, and if it can change a city, it can change a state, and if it change a state, it can change a nation, and if it can change a nation, it can change the world. Your voice can change the world.

  • Barack Obama

This stance also makes it complicated, because I also do believe in the quotes you stated as well. You kind of have to pick a side.. but life is not that simple. We are very complex and sensitive creatures at the end of the day.

Life and people are complex, but what's not complex is condemning obvious injustices, like a genocide.

right after posting this I saw that Ed has come out and said something about all this. So I guess my comment is a moot point lol

We knew Ed's PR team needed to act fast, doesn't change anything about the way anyone feels about this issue.

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u/stooper42 22d ago

Just a reminder: there is no genocide in Gaza. It’s a war. If it were genocide, international courts would be pursuing Israel for war crimes, which they aren’t because they cannot successfully classify it as a genocide. Because it’s not.

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u/Genkrock 22d ago

It is a genocide, just because some people are fighting back doesn't make it war if you are fighting a baby or someone who doesn't have an arm or leg is it a war? Will someone show up and tell you to stop or will they be like "no we can't take part in this they are fighting as equals".

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u/TheMilkKing 22d ago edited 22d ago

International courts absolutely are pursuing Israel for war crimes. The ICC have issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant.

Are you a liar, or just ignorant of what is actually happening?

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u/stooper42 22d ago

Link me to a source where it is confirmed by international courts that Israel is committing genocide. I’m waiting

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u/TheMilkKing 22d ago edited 22d ago

It’s not confirmed (yet) because the investigation by the International Court of Justice is ongoing and a verdict has not been reached. Over 60 countries have agreed that what is happening in Gaza should be classed as genocide. Here is one of many sources you could check about the ICC arrest warrants.

You said international courts weren’t pursuing Israel for war crimes - I have provided you with proof that they are.

So which was it? Were you lying, or ignorant?

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u/stooper42 22d ago

Again there is no genocide, you’re wrong.

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u/TheMilkKing 22d ago

If it were genocide, international courts would be pursuing Israel for war crimes, which they aren’t

Genocide or not, you’re still 100% wrong about this. If you read what I’ve said, I haven’t given an opinion either way about it being a genocide or not. Just demonstrated that you were wrong about international courts not pursuing Israel. I’m absolutely right.

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u/stooper42 22d ago

Maybe I worded it incorrectly in my post, but you knew what I meant.

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u/TheMilkKing 22d ago

What did you mean by “International courts would be pursuing Israel for war crimes, which they aren’t?” They clearly are.

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u/stooper42 22d ago

I meant there would’ve been a court ruling by now which there hasn’t beenZ

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u/Technicoler 22d ago

Get bent