I hadn’t planned to weigh in on the controversy surrounding popular English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran because so much has already been reported in the news. But two things really have made my blood boil. I’ll get to them shortly.
As you already know, multiple award-winning English singer/songwriter, Ed Sheeran, recently dropped popular rapper (and his purported friend), Macklemore, from his “Loop Tour” after declaring “Free Palestine” and performing his protest song, “Hind’s Hall” at MetLife Stadium in Rutherford, New Jersey. Macklemore chose his words carefully; he said he was criticizing the Israeli government, not its people or the Jewish faith.
You can hear Macklemore’s passionate plea, “Free Palestine” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GslWD7ZcipY
You can listen to his “Hind’s Hall” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITVIlr5jUMw
Immediately following, Sheeran’s other friend, New England Patriot’s owner, Robert Kraft (Sheeran performed at Kraft’s 2022 wedding), demanded that Sheeran drop Macklemore from the rest of his tour, and enlisted other billionaire stadium-owner friends to drop him as well. Sheeran acceded to the demands and removed Macklemore from his tour. While Sheeran received support from pop artist, Pink, who posted on Instagram that Macklemore’s, “Free Palestine” made her feel “scared,” there has been an outpouring of support for the rapper, including all of Sheeran’s opening acts.
Finneas: “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.”
The band, Lukas Graham: “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. Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”
Sheeran’s backing band, the Irish group, Beoga, cited the “silencing of Macklemore by zionist lobbies”.
And Irish singer, Aaron Rowe: “ … as Irish people, we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation. I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children. I would lose all respect for myself to carry on as normal. I need to be true to myself and my ancestors who resisted colonisation, and fought for a freedom that I enjoy today in Ireland.”
All this has been widely reported. But of the many things that are disturbing in this situation – eg. not only Zionist Kraft’s conflation of Jewishness with supporting Israel and protests against Israel with antisemitism, but his support for Israel’s genocide, millions of dollars to the IDF’ his “Touchdown for Israel” program paying for NFL players to visit “the holy land”; a billionaire attempting to thwart the First Amendment’s guarantee of free speech; his appearance in the Epstein files, and more; and not only Ed Sheeran’s utter capitulation to billionaire Kraft and his billionaire buddies; and other egregious injustices about this whole thing …
These two have really made my blood boil.
First, Sheeran tried to have it both ways when he offered this in response to the negative publicity he received: “I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I chose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.” He told Macklemore his comments, “Free Palestine,” and waving a Palestinian flag were “hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with,” and that his public image meant that “I don’t take sides.” This, even though he has spoken out on Ukraine and other issues.
Bullshit. Of course, he’s complicit. And not only complicit, but a coward, kissing the ass of his corporate billionaire friend, and therefore, criminally culpable in the murder of tens of thousands of Gaza’s children. Macklemore replied to Sheeran, “I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood.”
Second, lost in all this is the Palestinian dead and wounded – 75,000 Palestinians murdered, 21,000 of them children; 175,000 wounded, 65,000 children killed or wounded (since October 7, 2023). Zionist apartheid and ethnic cleansing has been going on for at least 78 years. There’s more discussion in the corporate-owned media on what it’s costing Sheeran, Kraft’s outrage, Pink’s hurt feelings, than on the Palestinian dead and wounded. Please don’t tell me that racism does not play a role in US absolutist support for the Zionist project, including Israel’s apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. White privilege on steroids, deadly western white privilege. A racist, exceptionalist, manifest destiny Christian Nationalism in the US and a racist, exceptionalist manifest destiny Jewish and Christian Zionism – soul sisters.
Thank you to children’s educator, Ms. Rachel to remind us of the children: “Ed Sheeran had an opportunity to show that we won’t be bullied into punishing people for supporting Palestine. Instead he caved to people who refuse to accept what the world knows. A genocide is happening in Gaza. We all need to speak on it. If more than 20,000 white children were killed in another part of the world, everyone would be shouting about it at their concerts. Treating some children’s lives as less worthy of outage is racist. Silence during a genocide is not neutral.”
Finally, where are we? Truly, “WHERE are we, who purportedly stand for justice and right?” Liberal prayers and empathy aren’t enough anymore. The dead men, women, and children are crying out to us from under Gaza’s rubble, “Where are you?” They – and those Palestinian family members and friends who remain – are crying out to us, too, “Where are you?” Our friends in Palestine are reminding us that theirs is a costly resilience, a costly resistance, but ours must be a costly solidarity, what Bonhoeffer called, “costly discipleship.” Where are we? Are we standing up? Are we speaking out? Are we reaching out? What price are we willing to pay?
Let’s let Macklemore have the final word: “I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families. The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don’t lose sight of that.”