Macklemore is facing a petition calling for his removal from Ed Sheeran‘s current ‘Loop’ tour in the US after he made a “Free Palestine” plea onstage.
The rapper launched into a speech during both shows at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Friday (September 4) and last night (September 5) saying that wanted those in Gaza and the West Bank to know “they have not been forgotten” and that “I believe that every human being walking on this earth deserves exactly the same freedom.”
He added: “I say Free Palestine, free Cuba, Congo, Sudan and Iran and all the people of America who live in fear because of this terrorist organisation ICE” before launching into pro-Palestine track ‘Hind’s Hall’ alongside footage of Gaza onscreen.
Following his plea, the Israeli-American Council launched a petition to Sheeran and his management, urging them to remove Macklemore from the remainder of the tour.
Macklemore opened for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium wearing a keffiyeh, performed “Hind’s Hall” with Gaza footage on the screens, and told 80,000 people he wanted those in Gaza and the West Bank to know “they have not been forgotten.”
He said every human being deserves “the… pic.twitter.com/4J7fB1zEI4
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 6, 2026
“At Ed Sheeran’s September 4 concert at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, opening act Macklemore used the stage to deliver an extended political message, called for ‘Free Palestine’ and performed Hind’s Hall while images from Gaza and other political messaging were projected across the stadium screens,” the petition began.
The IAC said the artist had used a “global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda” and added: “This was an Ed Sheeran concert – not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event.”
The petition added: “This becomes even more troubling when the message relies on selective imagery, biased messaging, and disputed claims presented to a massive audience as fact, without context or complexity.”
The IAC also called on Sheeran’s team to “clarify whether Macklemore’s political speech, visual content, and performance of ‘Hind’s Hall’ were approved in advance, and to establish clear boundaries for the use of the tour stage to promote political messaging.”
Sheeran and Macklemore are yet to respond to the petition publicly.
‘Hind’s Hall’ was released in 2024 and named after Columbia University’s Hamilton’s Hall, which was renamed Hind’s Hall by pro-Palestine student activists in honour of Hind Rajab – a child killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Tom Morello hailed the protest song at the time, branding it “the most Rage Against The Machine song since Rage Against The Machine”.
Macklemore followed the track with a sequel featuring Palestinian-American artists Anees and Amer Zahr, Gaza-born rapper MC Abdul, and vocals from the Los Angeles Palestinian Kids Choir that same year.
A United Nations Commission concluded last year that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and said recently that genocidal acts were continuing through attacks targeting children. Amnesty International also concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
Israel has repeatedly denied committing genocide or war crimes, maintaining that its military campaign is an act of self-defence following the Hamas-led attack on the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, where 344 civilians and 34 security personnel were killed and 44 people were taken hostage. It also rejected the UN findings as “distorted and false” and a “libellous sham”.
