I'm going to post the full text of #Macklemore's response to his cancellation from #EdSheeran's tour
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Ed is my friend. I've known him for 13 years. We've shared late nights, studio sessions and stages. He has this infectious magic about him that I've grown to love. I consider him a brother. And because of that, we've had some difficult conversations this past week. The type of talks rooted in love and respect for one another that still end in a place of fundamental disagreement. Nothing I'm writing here is out of spite or because I want to tear down his character.
4/x
But as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can't change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened. Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium.
5/x
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But as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can't change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened. Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium.
5/x
Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues. Ed was in a fucked up position. He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words "Free Palestine" and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with.
6/x
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Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues. Ed was in a fucked up position. He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words "Free Palestine" and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with.
6/x
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. But he couldn't get past his public facing, "I don't take sides." And I get why people don't. Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I've lost all of those things.
7/x
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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. But he couldn't get past his public facing, "I don't take sides." And I get why people don't. Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I've lost all of those things.
7/x
But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn't leave you in the middle. What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now? Because now I'm sharing a stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stadiums in America.
8/x
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But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn't leave you in the middle. What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now? Because now I'm sharing a stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stadiums in America.
8/x
At a certain level of exposure, "Free Palestine" becomes too much of a risk. If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next? The stage becomes resistance. Maybe that's why this time it became so important to silence me.
9/x
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At a certain level of exposure, "Free Palestine" becomes too much of a risk. If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next? The stage becomes resistance. Maybe that's why this time it became so important to silence me.
9/x
And one of the most effective ways to enforce that silence has been to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism. Antisemitism is real. And that is exactly why the word matters too much to be used as a shield against criticism of the Israeli state. When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying "Free Palestine" gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn't protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability.
10/x
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I'm going to post the full text of #Macklemore's response to his cancellation from #EdSheeran's tour
I'm not going to editorialize. I'm not going to provide context- you can search the news
I think it's important because he doesn't get angry. He doesn't burn bridges
And he doesn't back down from a clear moral stance. He's generous and even-handed
Effective communication on an important topic
https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRdsy0m2HK/
1/x
@benroyce I read it earlier today and I admire the way he addressed the situation. Like you said: "he doesn't get angry. He doesn't burn bridges And he doesn't back down from a clear moral stance.''
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And one of the most effective ways to enforce that silence has been to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism. Antisemitism is real. And that is exactly why the word matters too much to be used as a shield against criticism of the Israeli state. When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying "Free Palestine" gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn't protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability.
10/x
I hope this isn't the end of my relationship with Ed. Thirteen years of friendship doesn't disappear because of one painful disagreement. I hope we both continue listening, studying what is happening in Palestine and wrestling with what neutrality means in a moment like this. My door will always be open to continuing that conversation.
11/x
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I hope this isn't the end of my relationship with Ed. Thirteen years of friendship doesn't disappear because of one painful disagreement. I hope we both continue listening, studying what is happening in Palestine and wrestling with what neutrality means in a moment like this. My door will always be open to continuing that conversation.
11/x
When my brother Omar was doing the subtitles for the video I posted from MetLife, I thanked him. He told me there's a phrase in Arabic:
لا شكر على واجب
"La shukra ala wajeb." There is no thanks for a duty.
That stayed with me. Because that's what this has become for me and millions of others around the world. A duty. Not something deserving of praise or gratitude. Not brave. Human.12/x
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When my brother Omar was doing the subtitles for the video I posted from MetLife, I thanked him. He told me there's a phrase in Arabic:
لا شكر على واجب
"La shukra ala wajeb." There is no thanks for a duty.
That stayed with me. Because that's what this has become for me and millions of others around the world. A duty. Not something deserving of praise or gratitude. Not brave. Human.12/x
Who is winning the internet, who is getting canceled, 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 the people living through a genocide.
13/x
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Who is winning the internet, who is getting canceled, 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 the people living through a genocide.
13/x
I didn't need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say.
Free Palestine.
But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I've ever been on.14/14
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I'm going to post the full text of #Macklemore's response to his cancellation from #EdSheeran's tour
I'm not going to editorialize. I'm not going to provide context- you can search the news
I think it's important because he doesn't get angry. He doesn't burn bridges
And he doesn't back down from a clear moral stance. He's generous and even-handed
Effective communication on an important topic
https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRdsy0m2HK/
1/x
@benroyce As a 60-year-old who stopped paying attention to current pop in 1985, I had never heard of Macklemore until this happened. But although I can't name a single one of his songs, I damned sure respect the man!
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I'm going to post the full text of #Macklemore's response to his cancellation from #EdSheeran's tour
I'm not going to editorialize. I'm not going to provide context- you can search the news
I think it's important because he doesn't get angry. He doesn't burn bridges
And he doesn't back down from a clear moral stance. He's generous and even-handed
Effective communication on an important topic
https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRdsy0m2HK/
1/x
Thanks for this, Ben. It's encouraging for this old man to see young men who have their priorities straight.
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I didn't need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say.
Free Palestine.
But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I've ever been on.14/14
@benroyce I wholeheartedly concur. Silence about what Israel is doing = support for the Zionists. Personally I could not live with that on my conscience.
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I'm going to post the full text of #Macklemore's response to his cancellation from #EdSheeran's tour
I'm not going to editorialize. I'm not going to provide context- you can search the news
I think it's important because he doesn't get angry. He doesn't burn bridges
And he doesn't back down from a clear moral stance. He's generous and even-handed
Effective communication on an important topic
https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRdsy0m2HK/
1/x
@benroyce I think Robert Kraft and Ed Sheeran is about to experience a refresher course on the Barbara Streisand Effect, boosting #Macklemore's #Gaza and #Palestine message beyond the RW and Zionist talking points and censorship attempts. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streisand_effect
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I didn't need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say.
Free Palestine.
But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I've ever been on.14/14
Freedom is not cheap. It comes at great cost and it often requires real bravery to defend.
Wearing a military uniform and shooting people from behind a remote screen is not bravery. Taking a stand, speaking for those who have no voice, this is courage that few Americans can muster.
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I didn't need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say.
Free Palestine.
But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I've ever been on.14/14
Bookmarked. I need to read it tomorrow. Boosted because we’re cousins.
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I'm going to post the full text of #Macklemore's response to his cancellation from #EdSheeran's tour
I'm not going to editorialize. I'm not going to provide context- you can search the news
I think it's important because he doesn't get angry. He doesn't burn bridges
And he doesn't back down from a clear moral stance. He's generous and even-handed
Effective communication on an important topic
https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRdsy0m2HK/
1/x
@benroyce thank you for posting this.
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I'm going to post the full text of #Macklemore's response to his cancellation from #EdSheeran's tour
I'm not going to editorialize. I'm not going to provide context- you can search the news
I think it's important because he doesn't get angry. He doesn't burn bridges
And he doesn't back down from a clear moral stance. He's generous and even-handed
Effective communication on an important topic
https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRdsy0m2HK/
1/x
@benroyce Thank you for posting this. It's such common sense as well as human. I had heard of Macklemore because I made a Macklemore cake topper for a little girl a few years ago. She clearly saw something in him others hadn't yet seen. Also, as for "no stance, both sides" yeah. I am not an Ed Sheeran fan and even less so now. There is a time to stand up and speak truth to power. This is the time.
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I'm going to post the full text of #Macklemore's response to his cancellation from #EdSheeran's tour
I'm not going to editorialize. I'm not going to provide context- you can search the news
I think it's important because he doesn't get angry. He doesn't burn bridges
And he doesn't back down from a clear moral stance. He's generous and even-handed
Effective communication on an important topic
https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRdsy0m2HK/
1/x
@benroyce Time also to resurrect that Robert Kraft paying for sex at a massage parlor matter methinks. https://apnews.com/article/nfl-new-england-patriots-trials-fort-lauderdale-football-d103cccb9cf81975c30d48b695e0f7a1 #RobertKraft
