It’s a privilege to be apolitical. When you have the wealth and influence to essentially pay your way to escape or not be involved in what governments do, its easy to turn a blind eye to what might be happening in the world. In the past, many entertainers have fallen into this ‘apolitical’ image in their public lives, choosing to stay silent on all things politics in the name of appealing to the general public.
We live in a world where families and their livelihoods all around the world are being turned upside down by bombs. It is simply not enough to go out on a stage and say, “Let’s just love everyone,” when those in power are bringing destruction upon innocent people; however, this has been the status quo. We’ve recently seen an artist break this tradition: Macklemore went viral for speaking on Palestine during his opening act for Ed Sheeran. It’s not often that artists take such ‘bold’ stances, especially on such a large stage. His message spread across the stadium and the internet, gaining millions of likes.
This past week, there has been an uprising involving all of Ed Sheeran’s opening and supporting acts speaking openly about politics within the last few days — specifically, Macklemore, Finneas, Lucas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga. From day one of the tour, Macklemore has been speaking openly about his support for the Palestinian people, using his time between songs advocating for a free Palestine, while also acknowledging that the criticism of Israel and apartheid is not a criticism of Jewish people. His comments were met with overwhelming support from long-time fans and new listeners alike at the concerts.
He was also met with criticism; across many platforms people expressed their distaste about the political statements. Just looking at a few of the clips from concert goers, some of the comments read, “He should apologize to Ed”, “He brought so much hate and division to a show”, and “This is how you end your career.” While these negative comments were in the minority, they were a sort of foreshadowing for what would go down just a few days later.
On Sept. 14, a statement was released by Macklemore announcing his departure from the tour, which has over 8 million likes at the time of writing.
“[Macklemore] is not a victim, Pink is not a victim, Ed Sheeran is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety, and audiences around the world,” Macklemore said in the first slide of his statement on Instagram. “Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families. The victims are the Palestinian people.”
Throughout his post, he goes on to explain why exactly he was removed from the tour. According to Sheeran himself, Robert Kraft — New England Patriots team and stadium owner, Kraft CEO, and the center of an infamous prostitution scandal — called Sheeran and gave him an ultimatum: drop Macklemore as an opener or possibly lose access to play in several other venues again. According to Macklemore, Kraft had “rallied some of the other stadium owners” into banning Sheeran if he stayed on the tour.
Macklemore adds that he knows Sheeran was in a hard situation. He also notes that his and Sheeran’s friendship is not going to disappear because of one painful disagreement, but “that friendship can’t change responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.”
The support was overwhelming, and in contrast to some comments made by netizens, Macklemore standing on his beliefs has gained him more respect, influence and attention than he had seen in the past decade. His statement made international news and forced people to have a real conversation about the impact politics has on our music. By Sept. 15, Finneas, Lucas Graham and Aaron Rowe also put out statements on Instagram standing with Macklemore and dropping out as tour openers in solidarity.
Possibly the most surprising and impactful statement came from Beoga, an Irish band who was not only a supporting act of the “Loop” tour, but Ed Sheeran’s own touring band, playing the instrumental for the entire concert. This is the type of work any band or performer dreams of. It takes months of preparation, and is the opportunity of a lifetime. Performers don’t always have a stable source of income, and touring provides that. Beoga had the opportunity to promote themselves and their own music in the largest venues in the U.S., yet they decided that removing themselves from this tour was the right thing to do.
Beoga makes an important point in their announcement: “The real enemy is the Zionist lobby.” I think most of us can acknowledge the hold the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, has on candidates, elected officials and policies in the United States. When Robert Kraft donates a million dollars to AIPAC, and then turns around to pressure Ed Sheeran to drop an opener who is against the cause that he so staunchly supports, it’s clear that there is an attempt to limit artists and their voices coming from Zionist figures.
People are tired of how the Israeli government has handled the situation in Gaza and the West Bank. According to the Pew Research Center, 60% of Americans have an unfavorable view of Israel, and 59% have low confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do the right thing regarding world affairs. Many countries in Asia, Europe and South America also follow similar trends. Despite this, our elected officials still send our tax dollars across the world to be used for the destruction and bullying of Palestinians.
People want someone real, someone who isn’t afraid to call out a misuse of power, someone who will stand for people instead of cowering. Crazy enough, the person who exemplifies those values most right now is Macklemore.
