Welsh pop singer shows support for Macklemore in Ed Sheeran Palestine controversy
Amelia Jones
Welsh pop star Marina has backed US rapper Macklemore after he was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour following comments he made about Palestine.
Marina, best known for her UK number one album Electra Heart, shared Macklemore’s statement about his removal from the US leg of Sheeran’s tour.
The rapper, known for hits including Downtown, was dropped from the tour after saying “free Palestine” on stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
During a brief speech between songs on 4 September, Macklemore told the audience he wanted people in Gaza and “the occupied West Bank” to know “we have not forgotten about them”.
His comments prompted the Israeli American Council to launch a petition calling for his removal from the tour.
Messina Touring Group, the promoter of the US leg of Sheeran’s tour, told Rolling Stone: “As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s US Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming US tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.
“After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
The rapper was set to open for Sheeran at eight of the remaining shows on his US tour.
In an Instagram post on Monday, Macklemore confirmed that Sheeran and his team had decided to remove him from the tour.
In protest of Macklemore’s removal and what they viewed as a ‘suppression of free speech,’ all of Ed Sheeran’s remaining opening acts pulled out of the tour in solidarity: Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe, and Beoga (Sheeran’s backing band).
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Support from industry
Other artists have shown their support on social media, including Welsh artist Marina, who reposted Macklemore’s statement on her social media.
The segment of the statement Marina reposted, reads: “Who is winning on the internet, who is getting cancelled, who gets to play the stadium, and who doesn’t, all of it becomes so small when held against what we are actually witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank.
“An entire people being displaced, starved and killed while the world debates which words we are allowed to use to describe it, how those words make us feel, and whether our discomfort matters more than people living through a genocide.”
The post was met with approval from fans. One commenter said: “She is so real for that.”
Another added: “My goat always got it.”
Ed Sheeran has since put out his own statement, saying he did not make the final decision to remove Macklemore from the tour, and that decision was made by the promoter.
He also talked about the backlash he was facing for not sharing his views on the Palestine conflict. He said: “I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose to not speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care. Nor does it mean I don’t support causes in my own, personal way.
“I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed.”
You can view Macklemore’s statement that Marina reposted here.
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Ed sheeran is a coward for not pulling out of these concerts himself. He has the moral stength of a small 100 year dried and decayed twig.
Marina on the other hand has more strength in her beautiful Cymru voice than Ed could ever dream off.
Useless excuse from Ed, a has been and weak singer.