Macklemore refused to back away from his pro-Palestinian message after an Ed Sheeran stadium crowd heard him chant “Free Palestine,” perform “Hind’s Hall” and turn his opener into the target of a petition demanding his removal from the tour.
The “Thrift Shop” rapper, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, used Instagram after the New Jersey shows to post Saturday footage from the stage and defend the message in his caption.
“Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial,” Macklemore wrote.
Here we go again – despite massive backlash surrounding Macklemore opening for @edsheeran, a repeat occurred a few moments ago at @MetLifeStadium in New Jersey.
Jewish patrons should not be subjected to this propaganda. pic.twitter.com/dRvFkHWA2T
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) September 6, 2026
Onstage Saturday, Macklemore began with “Free Palestine” and addressed Jewish concertgoers before framing his comments as a call for peace.
“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,” he said. “My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.”
His remarks then stretched from the Middle East to other countries and to people in the U.S. living in fear of ICE.
Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial. pic.twitter.com/BOJ9xMoIZn
— Macklemore (@macklemore) September 7, 2026
“So I say Free Palestine, I say Free Lebanon, I say Free Cuba, I say Free Congo, Free Sudan, I say Free all people in America living in fear of this terrorist organization, ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free,” he added.
The Friday night show had already put Macklemore’s politics at the center of Sheeran’s tour stop.
Imagine paying $500+ to see Ed Sheeran only to be ambushed by Macklemore’s relentless anti-Israel obsession.
Yes, the same Macklemore who appeared onstage dressed as an Orthodox Jew, complete with an enormous prosthetic nose.
Fans deserve apologies and refunds.
Unacceptable. pic.twitter.com/MWKXb2A8UX— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) September 5, 2026
“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,” he told the crowd.
Macklemore said he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know “they had not been forgotten,” then led more than 80,000 concertgoers in chants.
He wore a keffiyeh over his shoulders for “Hind’s Hall,” while the stadium screens played Gaza imagery and scenes from pro-Palestinian campus encampments.
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The Israeli-American Council sent a petition to Sheeran, his tour management, upcoming venues and Live Nation asking them to remove Macklemore from the rest of the “Loop Tour.”
“This was an Ed Sheeran concert – not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event,” the petition states, adding that “freedom of expression does not mean freedom from responsibility.”
The organization says it represents more than 150,000 Israeli-Americans and is part of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.
In the petition, the group argued that Macklemore’s choice of “Hind’s Hall” carried meaning beyond a concert performance.
The title refers to Hind Rajab, a young Palestinian girl killed in Gaza, and to the name Columbia University demonstrators gave Hamilton Hall after occupying the building during 2024 campus protests.
The Israeli-American Council said demonstrations tied to that movement included trespassing, building takeovers and vandalism.
StopAntisemitism put video of the performance on X and wrote that “Jewish patrons should not be subjected to this propaganda.”
The advocacy group also brought up a previous Macklemore stage appearance in which he dressed as an Orthodox Jew with an exaggerated prosthetic nose, calling for fans to receive “apologies and refunds.”
Macklemore had already made Israel and Gaza a major public cause before the Sheeran shows.
After Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, he appeared at a Washington, D.C., rally that November and called Israel’s military campaign in Gaza “a genocide.”
He released “Hind’s Hall” in May 2024, then followed it with a sequel later that year and donated proceeds to a Palestinian refugee aid group.
Rolling Stone reported that Macklemore led a Seattle festival audience in chanting “f*ck America” in September 2024 before debuting “Hind’s Hall 2.” A Las Vegas festival dropped him days later.
Susan Sarandon has also been speaking publicly about career damage she says followed her pro-Palestinian comments.
The 79-year-old “Thelma and Louise” actress told People at the Venice Film Festival that work has still been pulled from her because of her politics, though she said public understanding has shifted.
“In terms of the power structure. I’ve still had movies taken away recently, because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still. But that’s the power structure,” Sarandon said.
Asked whether the “tides” were changing in show business, Sarandon said, “I think that the narrative has completely changed. There’s a lot of things that people are aware of now.”
Sarandon was in Italy for “The Echo Chamber,” a film directed by Andrea Pallaoro, whom she credited for ignoring warnings about hiring her.
“In terms of doing this film, I thank Andrea for that, because he didn’t listen to the warnings,” Sarandon said.
Susan Sarandon complains she is blacklisted from Hollywood for her pro-Palestine activism; blames “Zionists.”
“There are still very strongly held positions within my industry by Zionists, who have not relaxed their feelings towards me.” pic.twitter.com/PxV0S7qMV3
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) September 6, 2026
She said she feels accepted internationally, while major studio work remains more difficult.
“So I think, yes, there has been a change in terms of understanding of the situation, and I think the general public, but there are still very strongly held positions within my industry held by Zionists and [those] who have not relaxed their feelings towards me,” Sarandon said. “But I found my family, I found my people, and I’m okay.”
Sarandon made a similar complaint in March during a press conference in Barcelona, Spain, ahead of the 40th Goya Awards.
“I was fired by my agency specifically for marching and speaking out about Gaza – for asking for a ceasefire – and it became impossible for me to even be on television,” she said.
At that point, Sarandon said she did not know whether the climate had changed, but that she had been unable to do “any major film, anything connected with Hollywood.”
“This Italian director that just hired me, he was told not to hire me,” she said. “So that’s still recently. He didn’t listen, but they had that conversation.”
Sarandon previously apologized after saying at a New York City rally in late 2023 that Jewish people were “getting a taste of what it feels like to be Muslim” amid the war with Hamas.
She later said she had not planned to speak at the rally and had meant to “highlight the urgent humanitarian crisis in Gaza.”