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Ed Sheeran/Macklemore

654 replies

WallyHilloughby · 15/09/2026 19:36

what are your thoughts on this whole debacle?
quite frankly I’m sick and tired of artists using concerts etc as some political forum

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marlboro · 16/09/2026 09:59

Freegom · 16/09/2026 09:58

Why would you only start with the British? What about the Ottomans, and the Romans...?

Yeah fair point. The pp was acting like Oct 7th was the magic starting point but fuck it, let’s go back further.

dreamiesformolly · 16/09/2026 10:05

Would you rather people just didn’t speak up for the things they believe in?

WallyHilloughby · 16/09/2026 10:09

dreamiesformolly · 16/09/2026 10:05

Would you rather people just didn’t speak up for the things they believe in?

I’d rather just go and attend a concert not a political rally

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SnipSnipMrBurgess · 16/09/2026 10:10

Freegom · 16/09/2026 09:57

I mean, some people disagree with Macklemore, think he may be an anti-semite and that these concerts are not the place for his message. If that's what you mean by 'shutting down'. But likewise, the pro-Palestine people are extremely keen to orchestrate a shut down of anyone publicly supporting Israel. If you're saying you think it should all be allowed and encouraged, I don't particularly agree, but at least that would be consistent.

Thats not the point though.

People should and do have the right to disagree with Macklemore.

What im saying is that his political stance, his presence on a stage, what he says and does along with the other support acts is not a surprise whatsoever. It is known. By Ed Sheeran himself.

So to book Macklemore and then cave to pressure from stadium owners is spineless.

Music has always been political.

WallyHilloughby · 16/09/2026 10:12

The thing is as we have seen from his charming outfit back in 2014 (where he just happened to grab a few items and end up looking like a stereotypical caricature of a Jew - weird that) so many people are hiding behind the free Palestine message to be blatantly anti semitic. Looks like Macklemore just wants any platform to share his thinly veiled prejudices

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Vigorousroots · 16/09/2026 10:15

marlboro · 16/09/2026 09:55

Im not sure that’s the right chronology… there were concerns about Israel’s behaviour long before October 7th.
if you start with the British occupation, and the issues that arose from that, this might be a better starting point?!

I agree but at some point we need to get to discussing how Israel are behaving now. And it just feels that that never happens.

LostNFoundSV · 16/09/2026 11:25

noblegiraffe · 15/09/2026 21:07

Here is Macklemore dressed in ‘Jew Face’ doing a Nazi salute.

Fuck him.

Exactly! As Mumsnetters say, he’s showing us who he is: Scum.

aperolspritzbasicbitch · 16/09/2026 11:28

Is there any actual footage of him doing a nazi salute, rather than a still image which could have been taken at an inopportune moment?

FragrantRosePetals · 16/09/2026 11:29

SnipSnipMrBurgess · 16/09/2026 09:43

Here is the thing though. Macklemore isnt jumping on a bandwagon recently. He has been saying this for years while being a friend with Ed S and being very visible and vocal about his beliefs.

So going into agreeing to book him for a support act, it would be known who is was and what he stood for. Im not sure about the rest of the support acts but Finneas has always been vocal about Palestine and Beoga are founding members of Irish musicians for Palestine.

Ed sheeran agreed to book them. Not his team, not the promoters, not the stadiums. Ed sheeran himself. Ed Sheeran isnt some small operation he is a man worth hundreds of millions who makes the decisions to what happens on his stage.

During sound checks, run throughs, etc it would have been visible what the message was.

So he caved. He caved to the opinion of an evil stadium owner who had enough dirt on other stadium owners to get them to turn.

I dont think this is about religion, I think this is an orchestrated effort to shut down negative commentary on foreign governments.

Excellent assessment of ES’s position in this

Holidaymodeon · 16/09/2026 11:33

noblegiraffe · 15/09/2026 21:13

If you’re not sure how offensive Macklemore’s outfit was, here it is from the side.

I hope people supporting him have a serious rethink. This isn’t ’legitimate criticism of Israel’, this is overt antisemitism.

This picture doing the rounds is not from the recent Ed Sheeran concert, this is many years old.

PurpleThistle7 · 16/09/2026 11:33

aperolspritzbasicbitch · 16/09/2026 11:28

Is there any actual footage of him doing a nazi salute, rather than a still image which could have been taken at an inopportune moment?

No. But the costume is deeply problematic and anyone would know that. Really, really gross.

Holidaymodeon · 16/09/2026 11:38

Music has been intertwined with politics, religion and social conditions for centuries.
African American music that developed during and after slavery was fundamental to blues, gospel and R&B, which in turn profoundly shaped rock, soul, hip hop and contemporary popular music.
Folk traditions have also frequently reflected political and economic struggles from British songs about land, labour and class to the protest folk movements of the 1960s.

We are dumb if we expect music to be dumbed down just because we don’t like the message

Freegom · 16/09/2026 11:42

SnipSnipMrBurgess · 16/09/2026 10:10

Thats not the point though.

People should and do have the right to disagree with Macklemore.

What im saying is that his political stance, his presence on a stage, what he says and does along with the other support acts is not a surprise whatsoever. It is known. By Ed Sheeran himself.

So to book Macklemore and then cave to pressure from stadium owners is spineless.

Music has always been political.

I'm sure ES knows his political stance and that some of his music is political. That's quite different from speechifying and showing graphic videos, which ES may not have known Macklemore was going to do. If ES knew he was planning all that and changed his mind based on the backlash, yes perhaps he lacks courage, or perhaps he's changed his mind on what is appropriate.

FragrantRosePetals · 16/09/2026 11:44

aperolspritzbasicbitch · 16/09/2026 11:28

Is there any actual footage of him doing a nazi salute, rather than a still image which could have been taken at an inopportune moment?

I think we can safely ignore the Nazi salute claim.

You can find a photo of most performers “doing a Nazi salute” if you try hard enough.

1mageeditgpt · 16/09/2026 11:47

SnipSnipMrBurgess · 15/09/2026 23:06

There were no children crying at an ed sheeran concert, no one under the age of 30 goes to one of those.

Macklemore was absolutely wrong for the 2014 thing. He was absolutely right about the Palestine thing.

He also has not jumped on a bandwagon he has been saying it for years, Sheeran is his friend for years he knows Macklemores political leanings.

Sheeran has said he isnt political, thats a filthy lie.

Also not sure why Pink was so scared. 1. There was nothing wrong with what was said. 2. She wasnt there. 3. She wasnt too worried when she was cos playing black women for the first few years of her career.

It isnt anti semitic to say what the Israeli government is doing is wrong. Your religion is not tied to your government.

As Mandy Patinkin says how can this treatment happen to you and your ancestors then turn around and do it to someone else?

"how can this treatment happen to you and your ancestors then turn around and do it to someone else?"

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

1mageeditgpt · 16/09/2026 11:51

FragrantRosePetals · 16/09/2026 11:44

I think we can safely ignore the Nazi salute claim.

You can find a photo of most performers “doing a Nazi salute” if you try hard enough.

Most of them aren't dressed as a Jewish caricature at the time.

ChamonixMountainBum · 16/09/2026 11:58

SnipSnipMrBurgess · 16/09/2026 09:23

Ah now dont be ridiculous. We all understood his act that is not what he was doing.

The character was created in response to the at the time very real phenomenon (in London at least) of middle class white kids trying to be faux 'street' by appropriating US gangsta fashion, music and speaking in an affected Jamaican rude boy accent.

Justanopinionnothingmore · 16/09/2026 12:09

cmonspring · 15/09/2026 19:41

I actually think that it’s good that artists use their platform for good. The more they do it, the more there is a chance that a positive change can be made (I hope!) I’ve blocked songs by Ed Sheeran on my Spotify.

Why would you hide his music? People are allowed to not get involved in the political talk. Although he was hypocritical as he did get involved in the Ukraine war. However, not everyone is comfortable talking about it. People crucify you for being in the middle. They are like.... Errrrr if you're not on this side then you are on the other side so let's cancel youuuuu.

What do you think hiding his music is going to do for the war? It's a lack of critical thinking skills. People cannot have a discussion these days without making everything their way or they high way. Life is rarely so black and white. It's insane how militant people are these days with their views. It is scary to be so one way and not consider all of the humans in this. That includes Israelis and Palestinians.

It's a very complex situation.

I don't like talking about my stance on the war (IRL) and I'd probably be cancelled for it.

I feel like I can here though. I just want the fighting to be over, for the normal people caught up in government and religious war. I aren't on either side. Both sides have committed atrocities. No one should be dying or injured for a strip of land. The only reason this land is beneficial to all of those surrounding it is the religious connotations attached to it. They don't give a shit about the people there, it's land, money and power. They tried to share it before and it didn't work.

But I refuse to back a terrorist organisation such as hamas. They are not innocent and they have hurt many Israelis and I also know Israel has hurt many, many Palestinians. Hamas are very intertwined with palestine, hard to separate the two. People act like palastine are innocent and have never hurt anyone. Which is just not true!

The real victims are children. But please don't be so stupid to fall for the some of the false media surrounding it. Palestinian supporters were sharing a picture of an injured child, claiming it was from the war. A lot of you didn't even bother to fact check it, it was actually a picture of a child from another war years back.

People see things on the Internet and believe everything you see without checking it.

Also I keep seeing from these security experts, that a lot of comments online like on instagram and the internet alike, are actually bots or hired people to keep posting content or arguments to create chaos.

Do you remember when there was a Jeremy Corbin page ran on Facebook and it turned out it was Iranian agents? They were trying to influence politics! Also Russian "broadcaster" managed to cause chaos here, last year, with rumours put about an immigrant for the southport murders. It caused riots. www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/misinformation-southport-suspect-started-29656591

It suits certain places to have us all arguing and pitting against each other. Just remember that when you're spouting off. You might not be talking to a regular person.

I have seen it all today, people abusing pink and ed online. What does abuse do for this war? Absolutely nothing while you are virtual signalling from your mobile.

dreamiesformolly · 16/09/2026 12:10

WallyHilloughby · 16/09/2026 10:09

I’d rather just go and attend a concert not a political rally

Not sure a couple of minutes on an issue turns a concert into a political rally. This is the trouble with society these days, not enough people care about issues in the wider world.

Justanopinionnothingmore · 16/09/2026 12:15

dreamiesformolly · 16/09/2026 12:10

Not sure a couple of minutes on an issue turns a concert into a political rally. This is the trouble with society these days, not enough people care about issues in the wider world.

You see where do you get off? How do you know people don't care?

People get shit shoved down their throats ona daily basis, sometimes you just want to switch off from it all. One person can't fix it all and we are bombarded so much with depression and bad news that not everyone can cope with it all of the time.

I feel for every single person who has something awful happen to them. And I truly wish I could fix it for them. But I can't and neither can most people. Just trying to live day by day and sometimes you need a break from it. My brain can't take constant negativity, I just switch off from it all as I can do feck all about it. The world's leaders and the rich will do what they like regardless of the little folk.

Not saying it's right but why are you judging people for simply living and wanting to see something without a condition attached to it.

Yes people going through awful times don't necessarily get to switch off from it but you cannot blame people for wanting to take a break from it. The human mind can only take on so much.

Justanopinionnothingmore · 16/09/2026 12:18

Virtue* yes I made a typo.

marlboro · 16/09/2026 12:24

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Freegom · 16/09/2026 12:33

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Constantly thinking or talking about something doesn't mean you are changing anything.

Are you really saying that people have to spend all their waking minutes thinking about all the suffering in the world? What if your favourite tv programme was interrupted every 5 minutes with an ad about the atrocities of the Nova festival? Or the suffering in Yemen? Would you reach a point where you thought you just needed to think about something else?

Or perhaps you think people should be allowed a break, but not from the causes you personally think are important?

marlboro · 16/09/2026 12:38

Freegom · 16/09/2026 12:33

Constantly thinking or talking about something doesn't mean you are changing anything.

Are you really saying that people have to spend all their waking minutes thinking about all the suffering in the world? What if your favourite tv programme was interrupted every 5 minutes with an ad about the atrocities of the Nova festival? Or the suffering in Yemen? Would you reach a point where you thought you just needed to think about something else?

Or perhaps you think people should be allowed a break, but not from the causes you personally think are important?

No but moaning about the people who do because you personally want a break? That’s certainly a choice

JacknDiane · 16/09/2026 12:46

Ed sheeren should come off the fence and say how he feels

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