Rapaport Blasts Macklemore's Pro-Palestine Message at Ed Sheeran MetLife Shows

Macklemore took the stage at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on Friday and Saturday nights as the opening act for Ed Sheeran, and he used those moments to deliver a sustained call for Palestinian freedom. The 43-year-old rapper, born Benjamin Haggerty, wore a keffiyeh around his neck and repeatedly chanted "Free Palestine" while performing his song "Hind's Hall," a track inspired by 2024 pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations. Behind him, the stadium's large screens displayed footage from Gaza, images of Israeli soldiers, and pro-Palestinian protest imagery. It was a deliberate, unapologetic use of a mainstream platform for political messaging—and it split the crowd.

In a speech delivered between songs, Macklemore explained his reasoning. He said he had wanted to open for Sheeran specifically so he could stand in stadiums and speak those two words aloud. He invoked his 11-year-old daughter, Sloan, describing the parental desire to see her grow up safely, to hear laughter on a playground before the sound of bombs. He extended his call beyond Palestine, invoking freedom for America, Cuba, the Congo, Sudan, and Iran, and denouncing Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a terrorist organization. The performance of "Hind's Hall" followed, its lyrics praising anti-Israel campus encampments and calling out President Biden, police, and the music industry. When Sheeran's show returned Saturday night, Macklemore repeated the entire set.

The reaction fractured along predictable lines. Some audience members cheered and joined the chant. On social media, supporters praised Macklemore for refusing silence, with one Instagram commenter writing that seeing him speak for Palestine made the concert moment mean far more. Others celebrated the political nature of art itself, arguing that music has always been a platform for human rights advocacy. But the backlash was sharp and immediate. Michael Rapaport, the 56-year-old actor and comedian who has become one of Hollywood's most vocal pro-Israel voices since October 7, 2023, posted on X calling Macklemore a "clown" with "no talent" and "no act or specific skill set." Rapaport questioned why Ed Sheeran would allow such a performer to open his shows, and he disputed Macklemore's framing of events in Gaza, writing that the rapper was "carrying on about a genocide that never happened."

Concertgoers who felt blindsided shared their disappointment publicly. One father said he had brought his wife and two daughters to Friday's show as longtime Sheeran fans, only to watch his daughters look "completely confused" when Macklemore began his political chant. The family left their seats during his set and returned after he finished. The father praised Sheeran's own performance as "phenomenal" but criticized the singer for allowing Macklemore to perform again on Saturday, writing pointedly: "Friday might have been Macklemore's decision. Saturday was yours." He said his family left the concert early and predicted Sheeran had lost many fans. Another attendee, who said he had always been a Macklemore fan, called the performance a "political stunt" and wrote that "when you go WOKE, you have to be prepared to lose fans." He too criticized Sheeran for not stopping Macklemore after Friday's backlash.

Two concertgoers who spoke to Ynet, the English edition of Israel's largest newspaper, described the experience as deeply painful. They said they were unfamiliar with Macklemore beforehand and unaware he would perform. "We only found out there and we were in shock. It was really horrifying," they said. They connected the moment to personal loss—friends of theirs had been killed in the war and murdered at Nova, the music festival attacked on October 7, 2023. "It was like a knife in the heart to hear him sing that way and hear people cheering," they said. Some members of their group began crying and left before Sheeran took the stage.

The Israeli-American Council responded by launching a petition calling for Macklemore's removal from Sheeran's remaining tour dates. The petition framed the issue as one of venue and expectation: "This was an Ed Sheeran concert—not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event." The council acknowledged Macklemore's right to hold political views but questioned whether a global concert platform was the appropriate place for an opening act to advance what it called a "one-sided political agenda."

Macklemore's activism is not new. In November 2023, he spoke at a pro-Palestinian rally in Washington, D.C., declaring that he knew "enough that this is a genocide." In 2024, he drew criticism after saying "f--- America" during a pro-Palestinian charity concert in Seattle, later writing that he remained "unwavering in my support for a Free Palestine." The broader context matters: Israel has been accused by human rights groups, legal scholars, and foreign governments of committing genocide during the Gaza war, citing the scale of Palestinian deaths, destruction, and displacement. South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Israel in 2024 to take steps to prevent genocide while the case proceeds. Israel has denied the accusations, saying its military campaign targets Hamas, not civilians, and that it warns civilians to evacuate and takes steps to comply with international law.

What unfolded at MetLife Stadium was not simply a concert moment but a collision between competing claims on what a mainstream platform should be used for, and who gets to decide. Macklemore saw the stage as a moral necessity. His supporters saw his willingness to speak as courage. His critics saw an opening act hijacking a concert experience they had paid for, and a headliner who allowed it to happen twice. The tour continues, and the question of whether Macklemore will perform at future dates remains unresolved.