Macklemore’s onstage call of “Free Palestine” while opening for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, United States, has prompted a petition seeking his removal from the remaining dates of the Loop tour.
During his Friday night set, the rapper sang the phrase before addressing the audience, saying he wanted people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to know they had not been forgotten. “I believe that every human being walking on this earth deserves exactly the same freedom,” he said. He repeated the remarks during Saturday night’s performance.
The Israeli American Council launched the petition, which does not display how many signatures it has collected. It states: “This was an Ed Sheeran concert, not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event. The issue is not whether Macklemore has the right to hold political views. The question is where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda.”
Macklemore also criticized U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during his remarks. In 2024, he released the song “Hind’s Hall,” which criticizes Israel’s actions in Gaza, and has directed proceeds from the track to humanitarian efforts run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
On social media, some concertgoers said they left because they had not expected a political rally and accused Macklemore of antisemitism. Others supported his remarks, writing: “Music has always been a vital platform for human rights advocacy, not just mindless escape.”
