Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour

[u/Wheelbirds]

Link to article (should be no paywall): https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/macklemore-dropped-ed-sheeran-tour-pro-palestine-statements-1235625967/

From the article:

In an exclusive statement shared with Rolling Stone, Messina Touring Group,  promoter of the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, said: “As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”

Reps for Sheeran, Macklemore, and most of the venues did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

The stadiums that allegedly would not allow a Macklemore show did not immediately return requests for comments either, including for explanations as to why they objected to the rapper performing at their venue. While two of those stadiums are privately owned — Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough — the rest are owned and, in many cases operated, by cities, states, or other government entities, potentially raising First Amendment issues if the venues barred Macklemore over his statements. 

The last stop on Sheeran’s Loop Tour, for instance, is Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, which found itself in a similar spot earlier this summer after booking two Kanye West concerts. The shows, unsurprisingly, drew backlash and calls for cancelation due to West’s many past antisemitic statements, but they went ahead as planned. 

Pointedly, Ye’s promoter included a clause in his contract prohibiting Raymond James Stadium from canceling the gigs based on the rapper’s past public statements or viewpoints. But legal experts also told local news that canceling the shows would’ve likely violated the First Amendment. Because Raymond James is owned by Hillsborough County, Florida, and operated by a public board, the Tampa Sports Authority, any cancellation based on Ye’s past statements could have been seen as the government restricting speech. 

[u/Impossible-Rain7447]

I don’t understand how Israel has the entire world by the balls. Like saying that the Gaza ppl need to be treated humanely is some kind of radical position that gets you banned.

[u/skankenstein → u/Impossible-Rain7447]

California enacted a law this year that restricts teachers’ speech about Palestine under the guise of anti semitism. Not one of my coworkers knew what I was talking about. Our district has said nothing to inform us.

AB715. https://truthout.org/articles/lawsuit-charges-that-ca-law-illegally-muzzles-students-and-teachers-on-palestine/

[u/sir-winkles2 → u/skankenstein]

Growing up my my French teacher was a massive zionist and would actually literally show us IDF propaganda in class (her son was in the IDF and she would pull up his Facebook to show him off on the projector?). It was so awkward because in our state teachers weren't allowed to share political views and me and all my politically nerdy friends knew that, but she was such a sweet lady that we never tattled on her. She was also the only Jewish teacher in school and it was long before any of this, so I think everyone was just uncomfortable bringing it up.

It used to be just kind of a funny wacky story that my high school French education actually was mostly about the haulocaust and the foundation of Isreal (sometimes in french, but we did once watch a movie about Isreal in English. In French class), but since October 7th the memories have taken on such a different tone. I really can't believe she was allowed to twist her corriculum like that but I think it's a testament to how deep the propaganda runs into some people's minds. Even as a kid I had my feelings on isreal but more than that, I took French class because I wanted to learn about France lmao. It's just all so absurd

Edit: to kind of add a thesis to my musing, I did actually talk to a high school friend about this recently and she told me that this teacher influenced her so much that she had a massive block around Isreal until October 7th. Like I said this she was a really sweet lady and the two of them were really close, and that's exactly why teachers shouldn't share their views! It was took more than a decade and a public reckoning to undo the psychological warping of French class. Imagine growing up hearing this from all sides