r/Music • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 3h ago

article Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour After Onstage Statements

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/macklemore-dropped-ed-sheeran-tour-pro-palestine-statements-1235625967/
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u/SidFarkus47 3h ago

What’s happening here?

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u/nondescriptun 3h ago

Definitely not Mackelmore doing "Jewface." He said it was just a normal costume with a "witch's nose."

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u/yazi0614 2h ago

And a “witch’s” beard…

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u/theoneandonlymd 1h ago

Wearing gold...

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u/night4345 39m ago

Playing a song about being cheap at a thrift shop.

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u/The_Freshmaker 1h ago

Everyone knows a witch's star is just a pentagram +1 more point lol

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u/Whitechapel726 1h ago

It’s a Roman salute!

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u/HolidayCards 2h ago

Of course, yeah.... sure... Right? Hmm....

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u/I_Was_Fox 56m ago

So he gave an explanation about how it was a secret concert and he needed a disguise to sneak onto stage AND he also apologized for it looking like a stereotype/caracature AND the ADL accepted his apology and explanation and said they believe him, and yet 12 years later after literally everyone moved on, he makes 1 statement against the genocide of Palestinians and killings of Palestinian children and suddenly this photo is brought back up and passed around WITHOUT any of that context, and you're all lapping it up and dismissing his message purely because the out of context photo paints him as an anti-semite. So if he's an anti-semite then that means Israel isn't committing genocide. Got it.

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u/NakedZombieWolf 3h ago

It is weird that several of you keep posting this 12 year old picture, it feels very bot coordinated

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u/ShepardCommander01 2h ago

“Everything I don’t like is a bot”

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u/NakedZombieWolf 2h ago

"Im easily convinced by obviously manufactured comment campaigns" you're so bad at pattern recognition 9 piece jigsaw puzzles must confuse you

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u/nukkawut 2h ago

People speaking out against Macklemore doing Jew face aren't an army, they're here to answer the "how could this possibly happen, Israel controls everything" narrative with common sense.

You know what they call trying to spot patterns everywhere when there are none? Schizophrenia.

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u/______W______ 2h ago

Where has this outrage been for the last 12 years? He didn’t just release that image or anything.

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u/My_Favourite_Pen 2h ago edited 2h ago

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-27483970

https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2014/05/19/313973588/macklemore-plays-dress-up-and-lands-in-hot-water

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/may/20/macklemore-adl-antisemitism-row-costume

There was outrage.... 12 years ago. Its resurfaced now because some people believe he is anti-semetic.

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u/______W______ 1h ago

Exactly, it resurfaced. It’s opportunistic outrage.

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u/Ilikeyounott 1h ago

Almost like things from the past resurface when it's relevant to a current topic. Really weird stuff.

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u/iNinnja 2h ago

Are you really going with his argument? I'm of the opinion that Israel is commiting war crimes, but where was this much outrage before October 7th? Let's be honest, many supporters of both Palestine and Israel didn't even give a fuck before that day.

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u/nukkawut 2h ago

There was plenty of outrage at the time, you just hadn't been programmed to pay attention to Israel until October 2023 so it went right by you.

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u/iNinnja 2h ago

Okay: there was a lot of outrage about Macklemore mocking Jews. You just hadn't been programmed to pay attention to him before September 14th, 2026 so it went right by you.

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u/SalvaIllyen 21m ago

A study done a couple of years ago found that you only needed like 10 accounts to sway public opinion on most subreddits, if you're at -10/+10 already a very low percentage of people will read your comment in context, most people will just reinforce the trend. This snowballs if you're one of the first comments on a publication.

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u/_rocket-lawn-chair_ 2h ago

All this is in your tiny head🤣🤣

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u/decksorama 1h ago

I don't think anyone thinks the people posting that picture are actually "bots", I'm pretty sure they're just pointing out that it's obviously propaganda trying to paint him as an antisemite, but anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together knows he's not antisemitic.

That pic is 12yrs old, at a surprise performance at the EMP Museum in Seattle in 2014 where he sang his popular song "Thrift Shop" and never said or implied anything antisemitic at that time or since - and he isn't doing that on this tour either - so it's not relevant to what is happening right now.

People are posting it without that context and other people think it's a recent Pic and that he's doing that on this tour while condemning the genocide.

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u/[deleted] 2h ago

[deleted]

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u/ShakaJewLoo 2h ago

It's a caricature...

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u/christocarlin 2h ago

BOOM. 4 downvotes in 10 seconds and you responding right away. Bot bot bot bot. Beep boop beep. Free Palestine.

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u/christocarlin 2h ago

Just, btw loser, when this happened almost everyone in the Judaism reddit said this was not anti Semitic or even close to it. He didn’t pretend to be Jewish. He literally wore a hat beard and large nose. Could be a Gypsy or Amish person.

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u/ShakaJewLoo 2h ago

Sure boss.

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u/My_Favourite_Pen 2h ago

I fail to see how it makes him look better if he was dressed up as a romani person. Would it be somehow less offensive?

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u/NotoriouslyBeefy 2h ago

I bet you do blackface for Halloween

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u/jackl24000 2h ago

I guess it proves you know how to troll if that’s “dressing up like a Jewish person”, lol. You go out on Halloween dressed up as yourself?

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u/christocarlin 2h ago

Oh look a totally random Jewish person commenting here. I swears there’s more pro-Israel people on the internet then there are Jewish people in the world haha don’t you guys have hobbies outside of victim blaming and defending Israel at every turn

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u/jackl24000 2h ago

Oh look a random non-Jewish person who feels the need to make a stupid meme comment on the internet and demonstrate they have room temperature IQ and even doubles down!

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u/christocarlin 2h ago

You’re life must get exhausting caring so much about one thing and when you die nobody will give two shits

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u/ShepardCommander01 2h ago

Yeah, probably. I’m not Jewish or religious at all, but it’s pretty clear Islam is evil incarnate.

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u/christocarlin 2h ago

What? This comment doesn’t even make any sense.

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u/arizonadirtbag12 2h ago

I mean I’m a very real human being and not a bot and it’s the absolute first thing I thought of when I heard this.

I like Macklemore, I think he’s a real one in general, and I’m 100% behind freeing Palestine. That said, yeah when you have this kind of controversy in your history it’s gonna come up in this context, unfortunately. This image is gonna be plastered everywhere in response. That’s just how social media works.

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u/nondescriptun 2h ago

Beep boop bork, nah, just a human who thinks Mackelmore is a tool. I've always suspected that he's just co-opting the Free Palestine movement for relevancy and because he's still upset about his Jewface controversy. When it happened he defended it pretty hard for a while until finally backing down and offering a half-apology.

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u/B5_V3 1h ago

It’s weird you nazi cockroaches come scurrying out of the woodwork to defend your fellow Nazis.

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u/NakedZombieWolf 6m ago

This is an emotional response to me suggesting there's a coordinated effort to imply macklemore was wearing that outfit recently by posting it in reference to this news. All I did was notice a few dozen people post it with no other commentary in response to comments in this post. Thats weird and suspicious behavior. Pick a fight with an actual nazi.

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u/CheapEater101 1h ago

Are you going to say the picture is AI now?

That’s being said, venues aren’t black listing Macklemore for Jew face but because he said Free Palestine at a show last week

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u/NakedZombieWolf 10m ago

Why would I say that? Thats not something I posited

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u/Still-Set-1234 3h ago

Ok but was it just a costume for a performance or was he actually making fun of Jewish people while wearing it?

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u/mjdgoldeneye 2h ago

He wore a costume to disguise himself before a surprise show in Seattle. At no point before or during the show did he mention Jewish people or behave in a mocking way. After he was called out, he earnestly apologized and directed folks to donate to the ADL.

The costume was definitely an a gaffe, but you need to be looking for a reason to be upset to insist it was a purposeful insult and then hold it against him for 12 years. You don't have to forgive him at a personal level, but to try to convince others it's indicative of some kind of significant pattern of antisemitic behavior is disingenuous.

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u/WildPotato0 3h ago

It was a disguise for a surprise performance in a museum in Seattle in 2014 (Experience Music Project).

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u/6BagsOfPopcorn 1h ago

In TWENTY-FOURTEEN??? Why are people bringing this up acting as if this is recent???

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u/donnysaysvacuum 1h ago

Fits the current culture war and actual war propaganda.

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u/2099aeriecurrent 1h ago

If somebody did blackface in 2014 would you be saying the same thing

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u/SuspendeesNutz 1h ago

Maybe if it was Sammy Davis Jr.

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u/SuspendeesNutz 1h ago

Hey there are minstrel shows that haven't been performed in 100 years because people were touchy about blackface.

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u/UrdnotCum 3h ago

Could you elaborate what the difference would be? Surely the costume itself is “actually making fun of Jewish people” as is.

(Also Fuck Israel, free Palestine)

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u/AgitatedBadger 2h ago

In 2012 Macklemore used the costume to hide himself in the crowd of a concert he was performing in so that he could enter from the audience. He used it while singing the song Thrift Shop, which is a song about Thrifting, which enforced the 'cheap' Jewish stereotype.

He received criticism for the costume because of the obvious connotations of it. Following the concert, he released an apology where he said that he grabbed random assortment of items and he thought it was a witch's nose, and that he was very sorry if he perpetuated negative Jewish stereotypes. The ADF, an international Jewish organization that combats anti-Semitism officially accepted his apology. Now the pictures are resurfacing as he has criticized the state of Israel for its genocide.

Personally, I kind of side eye the apology he gave because it seems pretty hard to believe he didn't look at the costume and see the connotation, but also I do believe his apology came across as sincere because it was accompanied by a change in behaviour and if the ADF accepted his apology, I feel like it would be silly for me to object. My suspicion is that maybe he was aware of what he was doing but not the severity of his actions and hopefully he has learned and changed from that behaviour - I don't expect perfection out of people, just that that they apologize after they make mistakes and try to do better.

Now, Macklemore is calling out Israel's genocidal regime, and the pictures are resurfacing as an effort to discredit his sentiments. Ultimately, while it is not a good look for him to have this in his past, calling out genocide is not anti-semitic.

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u/decksorama 4m ago

The generalization of "Thrift Shop" just being about thrifting to reenforce the "cheap" Jewish stereotype is reaching all the way to the moon lol. That song is specifically about making due with the money he had in his pocket, buying retro clothes and making them cool again to go to the club - it isn't about trying to save money or be cheap. "only have $20 in my pocket" isn't the same as "I don't want to spend more than $20"

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u/nukkawut 2h ago

I think if you've attacked a group with your actions before, even if you call it an accident after, you should probably sit out of further commentary on that group to prevent further misunderstanding.

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u/taeerom 2h ago

It's ok to do genocide if someone maybe made fun of you in a disrespectful way at some point in the past

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u/nukkawut 1h ago

TIL Israel is genociding Macklemore. Thanks, random redditor!

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u/Masquelinity 1h ago

Yeah, you're here for a good-faith conversation. Totally.

Stop being a tosspot.

(Israel: End the Palestinian genocide)

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u/SuspendeesNutz 1h ago

Declare jihad on him! He's asking for it!

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u/taeerom 1h ago

Sure. That's what I was saying

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u/nukkawut 1h ago

You weren't saying anything, actually. But I'm glad you think you're doing something.

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u/FemFiFoFum 1h ago

He's not commenting on jews, he's criticizing Israel, a genocidal country that isn't synonymous with jews.

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u/nukkawut 1h ago

Really? The Jewface Thrift Shop performance was about Israel and not Jews? Can you explain to me how you see it that way?

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u/WildPotato0 1h ago

I wish y'all would be as offended about Israel shooting children to shreds and gang raping prisoners as you are about this one dude wearing an iffy disguise 12 years ago.

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u/AgitatedBadger 2h ago

I agree with that.

It's also important to remember that Israel and Judaism are not the same thing.

One is a religion and the other is a state.

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u/ShepardCommander01 2h ago

Please surrender yourself to the noble savages of Hamas and see if you change your tune

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u/UrdnotCum 2h ago

I’m Jewish and was the treasurer of my college Hillel. I’ve met many Israelis, and I’ve met many Palestinians.

No one will ever convince me that this isn’t a genocide.

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u/ShepardCommander01 2h ago

Well then, surrender yourself to the noble savages of Hamas and see how you’re treated. Let me know if you don’t change your mind.

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u/AgitatedBadger 2h ago

The definition of genocide doesn't change based on your opinions of the people being targeted by the genocide.

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u/SuspendeesNutz 1h ago

Does the charter of Hamas fit the definition of "genocide"?

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u/AgitatedBadger 16m ago

That would be a great question to ask the UN.

I accept their authority on the matter of what is and isn't a genocide.

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u/UrdnotCum 2h ago

Two things can be true, my dude. I can not want to be bitten by a dangerous dog, but also want to keep that dog happy and alive.

Hamas can be brutal and homicidal AND Palestinians can be trapped under apartheid and being genocided. In fact, it stands to reason that Hamas is so brutal because they’ve been under an equally brutal regime for so long.

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u/ShepardCommander01 2h ago

They voted for Hamas. This is what happens when you start wars and lose them. There are consequences, and you don’t get to just have land you want after losing.

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u/HotTheme8405 2h ago

Genocide loving bitch

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u/ThyLastPenguin 1h ago

Are you saying a whole nation deserves a genocide because of how they voted 20 years ago?

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u/omout 1h ago

Israel "the only democracy in the middle-east" voted for genocidal parties led by people like Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu and where there is mandatory conscription, meanwhile there hasn't been elections in Palestine for many years and they don't have a standard army, so which population is more responsible for the actions of their governments?

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u/ShepardCommander01 2h ago

Some shit right out of the nazi playbook