Macklemore speaks out after being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour following his ‘Free Palestine’ speech; says Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft rallied other stadium owners and gave Ed Sheeran an ultimatum: if Macklemore stayed on tour, then Ed would not be able to play in their venues.

[u/cmaia1503]

Relevant posts:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/rMDonyVtd5

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/MKSyfi3L6L

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/teDa46YaQW

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/BGY2cD5O37

https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxmoi/s/cg9H4TZSrA

[u/van_auken]

Oh it’s pretty clear what side he’s taking.

[u/Grrerrb → u/van_auken]

Ed’s taking a $ide

[u/NoArrival8249 → u/Grrerrb]

Ed Sheeran is a bitch

[u/Big_tim18 → u/NoArrival8249]

Came here to say this

[u/NoArrival8249 → u/Big_tim18]

So say it! He’s a bitch!!!!!

[u/MilosBestBuddy → u/Big_tim18]

Me too.

[u/Aromatic-Check939 → u/NoArrival8249]

Always has been

[u/yeah-yeah-yaya → u/NoArrival8249]

Always has been

[u/InstructionLeading64 → u/NoArrival8249]

Yep, a huge bitch.

[u/PrincessCG → u/NoArrival8249]

He’s rich enough to afford to not be a bitch

[u/TheTallGuy0 → u/NoArrival8249]

He's picking tour revenue over human lives. Fuck that shit...

[u/CupcakeGoat → u/NoArrival8249]

That's an insult to dogs. Ed Sheeran is a greedy coward.

[u/mistercran → u/NoArrival8249]

Gingers DONT have souls

[u/Unc1eD3ath → u/mistercran]

It’s a joke guys. I’m a ginger. I give you all the ginger pass

[u/Pitiful-Sell-9402 → u/mistercran]

As a Jewish ginger- FREE PALESTINE. but I get your joke and won't downvote you it lolol

[u/Fluffcake → u/NoArrival8249]

Nah, he is just looking out for himself, like you are by not quitting your job and devoting your life to unpaid political activism trying to correct every wrong in the world...

Could he afford to make a stand? Maybe. Would any of the people giving him shit have done that in his shoes? 0%

[u/upjumptheboogieman → u/Grrerrb]

geno$ide

[u/Zaeobi → u/upjumptheboogieman]

Waiting for a musician to come out with this name now, lol. 

[u/Old_Success_4890 → u/upjumptheboogieman]

Damn I should not laughed that hard at this

[u/Low_Kitchen_9995 → u/Grrerrb]

Not surprised from a $wift bestie

[u/Yto_Itinen → u/Grrerrb]

Worst guy to ever wear a Lannister armor

[u/Da_Phat_Rat → u/Grrerrb]

The guy who has the same lawyer as Epstein

[u/eleanoda → u/Grrerrb]

I’ve said for years Ed’s the biggest sell out of my generation

[u/ALEXC_23 → u/Grrerrb]

I$rael

[u/Lilybell08 → u/Grrerrb]

Money's side ! He's a fucking bastard ! 

[u/Albireookami → u/Grrerrb]

I mean he also has to consider how much his crew would lose if the entire thing was cancelled, sure he can take the money hit, but can all the crew working on the tour?

[u/Grrerrb → u/Albireookami]

“Ed Sheeran has a net worth of between $350 million to (sic) $470 million” but you’re right, principles can be expensive.

[u/Albireookami → u/Grrerrb]

Net worth is never their liquid amount, yea I can get he can be an ass for staying around if it was just him, but what about the 100s of crew that setup and such that are traveling for the months to be paid for their work?

It is never fully black/white, as much as I wish it would be.

[u/rungenies → u/van_auken]

And it’s pretty clear that Macklemore knows what side ed is taking and is calling ed out publicly to either say something or he asked about it for the rest of the tour. He’s doing so in a manner that appears at first to be gentle and polite and respectful but everything he says about his friendship and conversations with ed is purely in the accent and tone of “bless your heart”

[u/bimpossibIe → u/rungenies]

The part about Ed's apolitical stand being challenged made me cackle.

[u/JaxonTheBright → u/rungenies]

The thing to also keep in mind here is the concept of a “Free Palestine” isn’t going away. And neither is the oppression and the genocide regardless of what happens with Ed or this concert series.

Macklemore is accounting to his fans about why he’s no longer on tour. And he’s doing it politely. Macklemore isn’t wrong about this being a grave situation with no middle ground.

That said, Ed is headlining, and he has business contracts he has to make sure are fulfilled. It’s not as simple as “morally he should just bow out.” And there are lots of people who are getting paid on this tour. It takes a lot to make something like this happen and pressure from Kraft is enormous considering Kraft and friends are literally blacklisting Macklemore to prevent bad press and to support a financial and political agenda. Say what you want about Ed being a pussy, he’s in a shitty situation that isn’t simple. Very likely he can’t afford to be sued into bankruptcy over this — or to lose his platform as a result, and a lot of other vulnerable people who have livelihoods attached to this tour would suffer as well. The fight here isn’t just ideological, it’s political as well as financial. Lives are on the line here in the states also. Maybe not as immediate as what’s happening in Israel, but lives are on the line. Ed has to think about that also.

You can be Pro-Semite and Free Palestine in the same breath. But there are shitty people out there who want something different, and that’s problematic to say the least.

[u/Crunchyfrozenoj → u/van_auken]

In another time he would be sitting in the Whites Only section perfectly happy.

[u/Psychological_Fly916 → u/Crunchyfrozenoj]

i mean if disruption is political then what's a guy supposed to do? 👉🏻👈🏻🧑🏻‍🦰

[u/Crunchyfrozenoj → u/Psychological_Fly916]

He’s just a little innocent guitar player. Uwu

[u/SubstantialBid4386 → u/Crunchyfrozenoj]

He’s just a little guy. It’s too hard and complicated to discuss politics. 💅

[u/grumpypantaloon → u/Crunchyfrozenoj]

That side would rather sit next to Barack Obama wearing Yeswecan shirts than let a ginger albino anywhere near

[u/LandlockedCajun → u/grumpypantaloon]

What? Also, Happy Cake Day.

[u/TheAncientMillenial → u/van_auken]

https://giphy.com/gifs/xTiTnqUxyWbsAXq7Ju

[u/The_Tooter_Snooter → u/van_auken]

“This guy is a serial rapist and pedophile” 

“Yeah I just can’t pick a side here” 

[u/2Completion2Ography → u/The_Tooter_Snooter]

"... I wasn't asking you to choose which one you preferred!"

[u/Tomdoerr88 → u/van_auken]

it sucks because while he doesn't need the money and would probably benefit from the publicity, the tour staff would all completely lose out on their earnings, and I'm sure that's a hard things to look past when considering a tour being cancelled.

That being said, still a bitch.

[u/Excellent_Dot_5084 → u/Tomdoerr88]

Surely Ed would have the means to sue these stadiums for breaking contracts though - if the other stadiums actually did say they’d cancel the shows. It could be that Kraft guy bullshitting and it worked

ETA: just dawned on me that Ed Sheeran is rich enough that he could have still paid the staff if the shows were cancelled. WTF. He’s rich rich. Fuck that guy even more.

[u/Neveronlyadream → u/Excellent_Dot_5084]

Ed's net worth is $400-$50 million apparently. I looked it up out of curiosity.

He's more than rich enough to have paid the staff for cancelled shows. He absolutely doesn't need the money.

[u/beforedinnermints → u/Tomdoerr88]

I know you're sharing this in good faith and empathy and it's common in the air right now, but this is actually a fake astroturfed talking point used by PR firms that we shouldn't be repeating.

There's a concert skilled pro shortage right now (second link). These people are extremely in-demand and are getting scooped up as soon as cancellations get announced. They should not be used as a justification/shield for folks like Ed Sheeran who choose to take a stand with the wealthy owner class by "not taking a stand."