Yoni Goldstein: Macklemore’s cancellation is no victory for the pro-Israel crowd - National Post
American rapper, singer, dancer and DJ Benjamin Haggerty, a.k.a., Macklemore. Photo by ARNAUD FINISTRE/AFP via Getty ImagesArticle contentIf there is one thing everyone seems to agree about when it comes to the latest case of cancel culture run amok in the arts world, it’s that singer Ed Sheeran is a good guy.
“Ed is my friend. I’ve known him for 13 years … I consider him a brother,” the rapper Macklemore wrote after he was booted from Sheeran’s ongoing stadium tour. The Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, one of four artists that left the tour after Macklemore was dropped, said, “Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life, I could never thank him enough.” Danish duo Lukas Graham, another of the bands that pulled out, wrote that they “love Ed” and are “grateful for everything we’ve shared.”
Macklemore was ousted from Sheeran’s tour after his performance on Sept. 4 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where he wore a keffiyeh and went on a long rant full of “Free Palestine” highlights during his set.
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That prompted Robert Kraft, the Jewish owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium southwest of Boston, to let Sheeran’s camp know that Macklemore — and by extension Sheeran, if he kept Macklemore on as his opening act — was barred from playing there. Kraft then apparently took it a step further, marshalling support from other stadium owners to bar Macklemore, calling the tour’s continued viability into question.
And then the other acts bowed out in support of Macklemore. The ball is now in Sheeran’s court: which pressure — the pro-Palestine crowd or the pro-Israel one — will he succumb to?
It is tempting to separate Macklemore from the other, significantly lesser-known artists who came to his defence. Macklemore appeared in May 2014 at a U.S. concert dressed in a black suit, dark wig, fake beard and large prosthetic nose. His latest tour has featured imagery that appears to conflate Israel with the Nazis. He rails against Israel on stage all the time.
By contrast, Rowe and Lukas Graham’s greatest sins against Jews and their allies are tiny: a couple of posts by niche artists in favour of free speech with a “Free Palestine” here and there aren’t going to hurt anyone.
