I see this thread is full of misinformation, a lack of critical thinking and a complete inability to understand nuance.
This issue has so many shades of grey and is far too complex to reduce it to Macklemore good, Sheeran bad that is being served up in 30 second sound bites on social media.
It can, however, be distilled down.
Macklemore chooses to use his platform to speak about Palestine. He has a history of Antisemitism that goes beyond his stance on Palestine and this is why some are choosing to disassociate with him. He hasn’t, to my knowledge, been able to refute the antisemitism accusations, it seems he has taken the “Jews are bad, oh but I don’t mean the ones who are in my crowd” line on defending himself.
P!nk has long been political in her music, and never shies away from difficult topics. She is also Jewish. She is clear that the actions of the Israeli Government in Palestine are not acceptable and that the people of Palestine deserve “a future that honours their humanity and their aspirations.” In her work with UNICEF, she has seen horrors first hand. She doesn’t blame Palestinians or Israelis for the actions of their governments. She is fearful of the rise of antisemitism, much of which is dressed up by some as simply supporting Palestine. She believes her Jewish and Palestinian fans deserve to feel as safe at her concerts as everyone else. Allowing any act who is making a political statement about Palestine threatens that safety.
Ed Sheeran didn’t drop Macklemore, the tour promoters did. He is apolitical in his music so hasn’t stated any opinion on the political situation. Having support bands isn’t an endorsement of their political or personal views. To suggest he can cancel his tour “in solidarity” would A) break that apolitical stance and B) mean a whole lot of people who support his tour would be out of a job, fans would be out of pocket etc. He is standing up for what he believes in, which is, his music and his own performance is free of politics.
Nobody has “been cancelled”. All involved still have their careers.
Nobody’s “free speech” has been curtailed, nobody has been “censored”. They are free to espouse their views publicly in whatever way they want. Indeed, I barely know who Macklemore is, but I have heard all of his views on everything simply because of the number of stories about him being “censored”. Freedom of speech doesn’t come with freedom from consequences. For all involved, their views and opinions on this matter will have consequences. Macklemore has been denied a few gigs, Sheeran has been derided for his apolitical stance (the sort of stance we’ve just been lauding Dolly Parton for 🧐), and P!nk is facing yet more attacks on her character - nothing new for her, it won’t stop her doing what she thinks is right.
Nobody needs to take sides. Here are 3 people who have all expressed their sadness for the situation in Palestine, but go about things in a different way.
The current clamour for every person who has been famous for more than 5 minutes to publicly declare their views on Palestine is ridiculous. It would do nothing to change the situation and serves only to allow people to place judgement on them for their opinion. I’m all for people using their public platforms to raise awareness of issues, getting involved in politics etc. where it is actual advocacy backed up with meaningful action. Otherwise it is simply using a cause to gain notoriety.