Pro-Palestine rapper Macklemore is facing renewed outrage after photos resurfaced showing him in what critics described as an “antisemitic Jewish costume,” as criticism of Ed Sheeran grows following the rapper’s removal from his tour.
Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg has also entered the dispute, arguing that Sheeran is “not the victim” in the escalating controversy.
Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, was removed from Sheeran’s tour after making a politically charged speech backing Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank during shows at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4 and 5.
In an Instagram statement issued after his departure was confirmed, the rapper said Sheeran had told him that billionaire stadium owner Robert Kraft was behind the decision. Macklemore alleged that Kraft had issued an ultimatum, warning the entire tour would be cancelled unless he was taken off the bill.
Sheeran later addressed the row in a statement of his own, telling fans that he would never publicly adopt a political position.
The fallout widened on Thursday when Irish station Classic Hits Radio said it would stop playing Sheeran’s music “for the foreseeable future,” citing listener feedback over the situation.
Further fuelling the dispute, old images have reappeared of Macklemore performing in Seattle in 2014 while wearing an oversized prosthetic nose, black beard and shaggy black wig.
The outfit drew criticism for appearing to invoke an antisemitic caricature of a Jewish man. Macklemore apologised at the time, saying there had been no malicious intent and that he had not realised the costume resembled a Jewish stereotype.
Macklemore has sparked outrage after images resurfaced of him wearing a costume critics said resembled a Jewish caricature. One picture appears to show him doing a Nazi salute
Macklemore apologised at the time, saying he had no malicious intention
Climate activist Greta Thunberg is the latest figure to weigh in on the controversy, claiming that Sheeran is ‘not the victim (Pictured: Thunberg in London protesting for Palestine)
People online have accused Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian activism of being part of something more sinister, pointing to his controversial costume and a circulating image that appears to show him making a Nazi salute while dressed in it.
He has not replied to the claims made about the image, and many online say it was a photo taken mid-dance that has been misconstrued.
Prominent Israeli activist Hen Mazzig wrote on X: ‘Claiming ignorance about an obviously offensive costume isn’t an apology. It’s gaslighting the Jewish community about our pain. 12 years passed, yet Macklemore never learned how to listen to the people he harms.’
Rachel Moiselle, a Jewish activist from Ireland added: ‘Ask yourself this: would you tolerate someone who did Blackface this way and give him every benefit of the doubt while the Black community are telling you he is racist? No? Then why are your standards different for Jews?
‘I don’t think anyone should be de-platformed for their political beliefs. Separately, I do believe Macklemore is an antisemite and Jews who don’t want to see an antisemite at an Ed Sheeran concert shouldn’t be scoffed at, even if we may disagree about him being de-platformed.’
Talk show host Howard Feldman wrote: ‘Whatever moral high ground Macklemore tries to take, there will always be this photo to remind us what really motivates him.’
Meanwhile, Greta Thunberg, a staunch pro-Palestine activist who was detained twice after travelling on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, has publicly backed Sheeran’s ‘cancellation’, criticising him in a statement shared online.
Taking to her Instagram on Tuesday, Thunberg said: ‘We are witnessing one of the biggest artists in the world being cancelled because they tried to “both sides” Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people.
‘This is a clear and undeniable sign that the global consciousness has shifted. The normalisation of an apartheid state, and the attempts to sanitise or justify its actions, will no longer be tolerated. Ed, there is only one victim here: the Palestinian people.’
After the news of Macklemore’s departure, all of Sheeran’s remaining support acts also stepped away from the tour.
American singer Finneas wrote: ‘Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.’
Irish performer Aaron Rowe took a strong stance as he wrote: ‘Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life. I could never thank him enough for this. But as Irish people, we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation.’
He continued by saying he ‘cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up’.
Danish band Lukas Graham said: ‘We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up. Wherever they live. Whatever flag flies over them.’
Irish band Beoga, who joined Sheeran for eight songs including Galway Girl, also revealed that they are removing themselves from the tour.
They wrote: ‘We have been friends with Ed for over ten years now and will continue to be.
‘Playing to those crowds every night is the stuff of dreams but to play in venues that silence anyone advocating for a Free Palestine is simply not an option for us.’
Beoga added that Macklemore had been silenced by ‘Zionist lobbies’ and that the group believed in ‘dialogue as a means of progressing the plight of the Palestinian people’.
RELATED: Baby Born at Harry Potter Screening Has Cineworld on Birth Certificate
Greta Thunberg, a staunch pro-Palestine activist who was detained twice after travelling on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, has publicly backed Sheeran’s ‘cancellation’
Macklemore was due to open for the singer at eight of the remaining ten shows on Sheeran’s tour in America
Sheeran lost more than 200,000 Instagram followers in 24 hours after fans criticised him for dropping Macklemore.
In a statement on Instagram, Sheeran addressed the controversy, writing: ‘I have always used my platform and music to bring people from all backgrounds and cultures together and this won’t ever change.
‘Those who have been to one of my shows will know that they are about unity, joy, escapism, love, and a place for everyone to feel welcome.’
He added: ‘I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.
‘There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics – my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum.’
He added that although he respects Macklemore’s ‘strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes’, there are different approaches to advocating for peace.
On Thursday morning, Irish radio station Classic Hits Radio announced it would be removing Sheeran’s music from its playlist ‘for the foreseeable future’.
Dave Kelly, Group Programme Director at Bay Broadcasting, said the move had been ‘carefully considered’ and was ‘not intended as a personal judgement on Ed Sheeran’.
He said: ‘We acknowledge his own explanation of the circumstances surrounding recent events.
‘As an independent Irish-owned radio station, however, we believe it is important to listen to our audience and to stand alongside Irish artists who have made what is undoubtedly a significant professional decision based on their own convictions.’
The uproar comes after the UK last week imposed sanctions on illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, sparking a furious response from Israel.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the measures would target ‘illegal settlements and settlement expansion’, adding that there had been ‘ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in areas of the West Bank, perpetrated by settler terrorists’.
It followed growing pressure for action to curb violence in the West Bank, amid reports of some 1,400 attacks by Israeli settlers this year – an average of over six incidents a day.
The British sanctions will ban settlement goods but also act against businesses and individuals providing services for settlement expansion.
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded by accusing Miliband of spreading an ‘outrageous lie’.
He later announced counter-measures, including shutting the UK’s consulate in East Jerusalem.
But the UK was supported by France and Canada, who announced plans for trade bans on settlement goods, as well as nine other European countries who backed similar measures.
Macklemore claimed that his long-term friend Sheeran had told him that Kraft personally called the singer to inform him that the rapper would not be allowed to perform at Gillette Stadium
The 12 countries issued a joint statement warning the Israeli government’s actions in the West Bank are threatening the two-state solution.
The measures mark a sharp shift in Britain’s stance on Israeli settlements under new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham, representing the most significant attempt in many years – from a close Israeli ally – to use economic power to force change in the occupied West Bank.
The Trump administration is taking a different stance, amid reports that it plans to sell to Israel a munitions package worth $2.8billion, which will include tens of thousands of highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs.
The package, which was reported earlier by the Washington Post, includes 20,000 MK 84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, according to anonymous officials.
US public support for Israel has fallen since the Gaza war began in 2023, particularly among Democrats.
A June Quinnipiac University poll found 48 per cent of voters and 66 per cent of Democrats believe the United States is too supportive of Israel, up from 16 per cent and 20 per cent when the question was first asked in 2017.
While the heaviest fighting has subsided since a ceasefire took hold in October, Israeli airstrikes have killed 1,369 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, does not distinguish between civilians and militants.