Israeli-American Council Launches Aggressive Bid To Force Ed Sheeran To Cut Ties With Macklemore Over His MetLife Set
Macklemore reminds the world about Hind.
It’s been a turbulent few days for the team behind Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour. The Israeli–American Council has launched an aggressive, formal petition aimed at forcing Sheeran to cut ties with opening act Macklemore following the rapper’s recent performances at MetLife Stadium. According to Complex, the tension stems from Macklemore’s use of his stage time to deliver a pro-Palestinian speech and perform his 2024 protest song Hind’s Hall.
Macklemore took the stage in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on September 4 and 5 to perform for crowds exceeding 80,000 people. During his set, the rapper wore a keffiyeh and projected footage from Gaza and various pro-Palestinian demonstrations onto the stadium screens. He said, “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.”
The Israeli-American Council, which represents more than 150,000 Israeli-Americans, filed the petition via Monday.com. The document targets Sheeran, his management, venue leadership, and concert promoter Live Nation. The group is demanding that tour leadership clarify whether Macklemore’s speech, visual content, and song choices were vetted or approved in advance.
The core argument is that the concert environment was used for political agenda
The petition states, “This was an Ed Sheeran concert, not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event. Freedom of expression does not mean freedom from responsibility.” It goes on to add, ‘Your show. Your stage. Your responsibility’.
The controversy has only grown since the initial performance. P!nk added her voice to the criticism by reposting a message from the advocacy group StopAntisemitism, which accused Macklemore of spreading anti-Israel propaganda and suggested that Jewish fans were owed apologies and refunds. Meanwhile, not one to take this lying down, Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, doubled down on his position.
According to Deadline, during the second night of the New Jersey stop, he addressed the backlash directly. He emphasized that his support for Palestinians is “in no way a criticism” of Jewish people. He told the crowd, “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.”
The rapper took to Instagram to share his side. At the time of writing, the post had racked up over 348,000 likes, 40,000 reposts, 21,000 comments, and 15,000 shares. Many Palestinian activists and supporters expressed solidarity and commended Macklemore for sticking to his convictions. The comments ranged from refrains like ‘antizionism does not mean antisemitism’ and ‘Free Palestine’ to many denouncing P!nk, while others vowed to buy tickets to the Loop tour.
Many argue that Macklemore’s performance is an extension of his long-standing activism
Hind’s Hall, the song at the center of this firestorm, was written to support pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses. The title itself honors Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed by IDF forces in the Gaza Strip. In his remarks, Macklemore also acknowledged the students at Columbia University, specifically mentioning CUAD students, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voices for Peace for their role in the encampment movement.
The backdrop for these comments is a conflict of staggering proportions that has been ongoing for over 75 years. The genocide, which intensified after Hamas’ retaliation on October 7, 2023, has resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis. Newsweek reports that according to reports from Gaza’s Health Ministry and international humanitarian agencies, more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed since the conflict began.
When including deaths in Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Iran, the casualty count rises to at least 76,621. The human cost is even higher when accounting for indirect deaths, such as deaths by starvation, famine and lack of medical care, with some estimates suggesting the total death toll in Gaza could exceed 100,000.
These numbers reflect a reality where 2.2 million people in Gaza experienced emergency-level food insecurity by early 2024, with famine officially declared in the Gaza Governorate by August 2025. With a population that has been decimated by violence and displacement, it is easy to see why these themes have become so central to the public discourse and, by extension, the cultural moments that occur on stages like those at MetLife Stadium.
For now, Ed Sheeran has not issued a public comment
Sheeran or his team have not yet responded to the petition or the demand to remove his opening act. Macklemore remains on the tour lineup, which is scheduled to resume on September 19 in Philadelphia. The Loop Tour, which also features opening acts Lukas Graham and BIIRD, finds itself in a difficult position as the debate over artistic speech and audience expectations continues to play out.
Whether or not tour organizers decide to set stricter boundaries for future dates remains to be seen, but the pressure from the Israeli-American Council suggests that this conversation is far from over. It’s a complex situation that highlights how deeply polarized the current environment is, and how difficult it can be to navigate these topics when global conflicts intersect with the world of live entertainment.
(Featured images: Markus Felix | PushingPixels and Drew de F Fawkes)
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