American rap artist Macklemore is responding to backlash after publicly calling for “Free Palestine” while opening for singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour.
“Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial,” Macklemore posted Monday on social media. His post included his speech from Saturday, the second night of back-to-back shows at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
After stating “Free Palestine” again onstage Saturday night, Macklemore told the audience that criticism of Israel and of what he called apartheid and genocide was not criticism of Jewish people, saying his message was one of peace and equal treatment for all.
The Israeli-American Council on Sunday launched a petition calling for the rapper’s removal from the remaining dates of the tour.
“This was an Ed Sheeran concert — not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event,” the petition states, questioning if an opening act should be allowed to use their global platform to air a “one-sided political agenda.”
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