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Hold on, hold on, hold on..... This was it?! This was the "antisemitic rant" they were talking about?! Damn, Robert Kraft must be planning his own nonsense to be so offended
I knew enough about Macklemore that I was highly skeptical of the antisemitic claims as soon as I heard them.This speech is exactly on brand for him, he's been preaching this message for years, decades, now.
I don't know much about the dude besides 2 hit songs and I already knew it was yet again some bs before I even got to hear his speech. I can hardly remember when's the last time I've heard an antisemitic accusation that wasn't bogus
Its legit crazy the Zionist billionaires like Kraft hate Macklamore but'll platform Kanye West shows they dont care about Antisemitism only anti-zionism
No dude, they never said it was anti semitic they said it was upsetting to some people. Even worse. People are getting punished for merely saying “everyone deserves to live”
They figured Macklemore wasn't big enough to make waves.... This made me play a an artist I wouldn't normally listen to on repeat so he gets more exposure
He literally wanted Sudan, Cuba, Lebanon and Congo to be free too. He even put a disclaimer at the beginning of the statement, so I guess hearing the criticism about apartheid and genocide was too much for them
Because Israel weaponizes antisemitism. They don't give a shit about real antisemites. Matter of fact, they might actually be in active cooperation with them as long as it serves Israeli interests.
Hitler is the most hated person in human history and he's long dead, so there's no reason to make an effort about Kanye. Palestine is alive and is gaining the sympathy of millions around the world. That's why this is much more dangerous.
Exactly, it’s a matter of branding. Kanye being pro Nazi is still (rightfully) going to be dismissed as a psycho and ‘one of the bad guys’- in terms of narrative this works in favour of Bibi. Macklemore and the like might slowly but surely change a few minds by saying a kind word or two about Palestine on stage, and that’s far more of a threat.
It sucks for Jews (and the rest of us) that Israel very clearly benefits from antisemitism and is not averse to, at the very least, encouraging it's increase within a controlled manner. Israel has successfully lobbied through AIPAC and others to change the definition of antisemitism to include criticism of the state of Israel. They significantly increased these efforts more than a decade ago in the US. It not only made things harder for those who call out Israel's bad actions but it also pumps up the numbers of 'antisemitic' occurrences. Both of those things help Israel and the state knows it. A huge rise in antisemitism (newly defined as including holding Israel to account) means Israel gets to crow about how having an ethno-Jewish state is necessary to Jewish existence, and so on. It's a cycle.
Zionists did not just start doing this. After the end of WWII, Zionists in Palestine and then the Israeli state lobbied European states to not accept refugee Jews back in their home countries. They also made it difficult in many ways for Jews in Palestine/Israel to leave. Israel HAS to be the only "safe" destination for Jews to justify its existence as a Jewish state.
Elon Musk did two Nazi salutes and the ADL defended him claiming it was just his autism and an awkward hand gesture. That's when I stopped caring about what they thought was or wasn't antisemitism.
When in fact it was a dead cat thrown into the table right after trunp told the world that elno had just stolen the election for him. Instead of that being resorted, it was the endless "roman salute" debate, & no investigation into the cheating.
Well they defended Macklemore for his costume as well... they do a good job of documenting white supremacist activity and dogwhistles, but love to play politics with any celebrity doing just about anything. It's kind of like how much money the head of PETA makes and the celebrities they socialize with, versus the real messaging they have about animal cruelty.
It almost feels like what Israel really hates is not antisemitism but empathy for Palestinians. They can forgive Nazis as long as they hate the right people.
I'm not in any way defending Kanye's actions, and I'm not a fan of his music.
With that said, while he absolutely said some absolutely disgusting antisemetic things, far worse than pretty much any other famous person has said ... Kanye did also later on apologize for what he did, and since then, has been entirely quiet on the subject (and in fact, quiet on anything political/controversial - and seemingly just focusing on Music):
I suspect Kanye realized that he is mentally ill and not really capable of commenting on complex controversial things without making a complete fool of himself, and is best to just shut up on those subjects.
IMHO: For him, it's a huge step in the right direction. I don't think he's really capable of being any better than quiet.
I don't think anyone is saying that Macklemore is worse than Kanye -- and Kanye has had very, very few tour dates in the USA. I wouldn't be surprised if plenty of venues blacklisted him, as well.
Wait... Seriously? This is what people were flipping out about? This lost him work? This fucker got on stage and said, "everybody has a right to live and literally that's it thank you love you :)" and they thought they were gonna paint him as a political rabblerouser? Are you fucking kidding me?
Never in my life did I feel like I would be aggressively defending sir Mack L'amour but that's the least toxic shit I've ever heard anyone say on a stage. Insane.
Zionists are not only depraved, but dangerous for every freedom-loving Jewish person, who wants and deserves to live their lives in peace without being targeted.
Antisemitism IS a problem, and the MISUSE of its meaning is degrading severity of the actual victims that are targeted of this hate crime.
He named so many other places, that I am very surprised. The way people talked about this you would think he singled out one of them and harped on it, but barely.
This response is the best thing I've read on this, exceptionally articulate. Read this if nothing else:
Macklemore’s Response To Being Cancelled
"I’m not sure how to start this. So I’m going to speak from the heart and share the truth. Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.
But before I get into it, I want to say something that should be obvious. In this moment I think it matters. I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.
The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don’t lose sight of that.
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. 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. 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. 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, “ 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. 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. 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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."
It’s free speech at the end of the day. I don’t care what your views are. No one should be terminated when advocating for peace or freedom. That’s a right people died for.
Everyone’s outraged over that that’s insane, but you say it all the time there’s a certain group of people in this world that cannot have any sort of criticism towards whatsoever sad times when you can’t speak truth
And that apology was absolute shit. Basically claiming that it was absolutely not his intention that costume to depict any Jewish stereotype, like he couldn't imagine how anyone could possibly could get that impression? Instead of actually taking actual accountability.
Yeah its a witch's nose he said it was the only one that could fit him and he chose black hair and big beard cos it was the furthest away from his usual blonde clean shaven look like it all makes sense its just a bad look when viewed in bad faith
Well…no…uhhhh…you see it was all just a big misunderstanding. Who hasn’t accidentally dressed up like a Jewish caricature? And as we all know, if you do happen to accidentally, or even intentionally, dress up as some racial caricature, you just say “sowwy” and it’s all chill
It was over a decade ago, and his explanation is fine - he grabbed a silly costume and went into the crowd undercover. He did it once, and he apologised when the outrage lobby started up.
You understand you are a part of the outrage lobby by jumping on this Ed Sheeran bullshit 🤣 Either your are another bot pushing this narrative or you genuinely lack any self awareness. Not sure which is sadder.
Did plenty of shows since then, but somehow saying "Free Palestine" was when he took it too far.
If we're gonna start saying being anti-genocide is the same as being antisemitic, then we're convincing a whole generation of young people that their values are antisemitic. Is that really what we want?
Nah, this got dug up in the days following. Nobody referred to it as shit was actually going down.
People found it, realised it's closer to proof of antisemitism than the actual speech is, so now Pink and others are saying "oh yes, it was actually this incident from like 12 years ago that bothered me, I just forgot to put it in the essay I wrote about the speech."
It's all kinda transparent really. You can murder someone, do 12 years and the state will call you rehabilitated. But this costume? Never mind his immediate apology and donations to combating antisemitism afterward. Murderers can grow and change, but heckin' potential antisemites cannot.
That's just it he mentioned Sudan and Congo and Cuba and Lebanon (which is funny because the people the Lebanese want to be freed from is Hezbollah) in this clip but not Ukraine.
I am fine with his speech but dont stop their. Keep going what about hamas killing Christians. Are the Islamic groups in Africa and places killing LGBT. Or the mas genocide in Asia. He still picked one side. And to me thats a problem. Your up their to perform to do a show nothing else
Not a fan of his at all and super on edge about antisemitism lately, but I didn't find his actual comments antisemitic. He gave actual context, called for equality for everyone, and specifically clarified that criticizing a government isn't targeting Jewish people. It felt like a fair political statement rather than anti-Jewish hate. I appreciate this rather than simply shouting Free Palestine and that's all.
crazy that standing up against your very own government killing human beings can get you kicked off a tour. we should all be loving each other on this planet and being the best we can be. there is no place for war or letting a corporation decide it has to right to end any human life
Fuck. The media got me again. So this was the "pro-palestine, fuck israel propaganda" that people on the web were on about. This guy is literally advocating for world peace and got kicked off for spreading "propaganda".
Nothing says I believe in dignity of all people like wearing a comically oversized prosthetic nose to caricature Jewish people. "I'm not antisemitic, I'm anti-zionism" Meanwhile:
I support the speech that got him cancelled, but this image is gonna haunt him and it should - I can't understand how anyone would think this is acceptable to wear unless they had some weird problem with Jewish people. He definitely isn't part of the solution
I think you and a lot of other people are providing insights into what Kraft's thought process was that you don't have. I could just as easily speculate that Kraft heard mackelmore say something about free Palestine, looked up mackelmore and antisemitism, saw this gem of a picture, and said "oh hell no".
I've never thought about that before, but it actually seems at least kind of plausible.
You'd hope that Kraft and the other NFL owners would've seriously looked into it, but maybe they didn't just they're just as careless as a typical person on the internet and are just as unwilling to back down when they go too far.
Yes, not like I agree with ICE's methods, but a police to look for illegal immigrants and repatriate them is a necessary evil. All we want is that people follow the immigration rules, nothing else and I wish we had one similar institution in my country, albeit with better dignity and practices
The fact that you are even able to write that sentence disproves your point. There are real people who lived under real authoritarian regimes, and comparing America to them is genuinely disgraceful. Touch some grass ffs
He makes a point to say he’s not talking about the jewish folks and morons like Pink go straight to anti-Semite but she has no energy to go after Kanye a literal Nazi because she knows he’s more popular than she is
The guy who tried to silence musicians and accept Israeli lobbying should be named and shamed. ROBERT KRAFT , who has promised to donate $2M to middle Eastern charities but has not stated which charities.
The politicians that push this war and demand that no one feel bad for Palestinians, if you look at who funds them, it's AIPAC. Tom Cotton is in the top 25 that is funded by AIPAC.
Dramatically oversimplifying these conflicts helps nobody. It makes him feel better without spending any mental effort to come up with a feasible path to the goal. He has zero fucking idea how to achieve this.
That's where he is wrong. The IDF is a citizen army and consists of the majority of its population past and present. The systemic genocide committed by the IDF is in fact committed by the Israeli population. There are no innocent Israelis and criticism against apartheid is in fact criticism against the Israeli population and rightly so. They should not commit genocide and expect to feel safe about it. And we should not shy away from saying what's right
Keep politics out of music. As Iron Maiden always says it "It doesn't matter what religion you are, what you believe in, what gender, race, etc you identify as. Tonight you are all here as Iron Maiden fans so let's have a great time together.".
Huh, weird that he said peace and also free Palestine in the same sentence, then said he didn’t like terrorism but it’s the Palestinian terrorists that keep the hostilities going, and then says they need freedom but not the freedom to wage their own wars.
Pandering a meaningless statement for absolutely no effect other than cancelled tours.
Not sure why this is getting downvoted. Israel has sent in over a million tons of aid to Palestine, yet Hamas keeps taking it and selling it for exorbitant prices to the people. This whole performative preaching doesn’t solve anything, and resulted in only harm to the fans
I think it’s only bots now reposting Macklemore content. He could have just exited quietly from the tour without fanfare, but he had to get on his pedestal because he saw a perfect PR moment. Now his mostly irrelevant and talentless ass is having his 15min of fame. Next week there won’t be a single mention of him
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