US Sen. John Fetterman decries Macklemore's calls for 'free Palestine' - USA Today
In the wake of Ed Sheeran dropping Macklemore as the opening act from his Loop Tour after venues objected to the rapper's calls for a "free Palestine," U.S. Sen. John Fetterman weighed in on the issue.
The Pennsylvania Democrat spoke to TMZ on Sept. 17, just three days after it was confirmed that Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, would no longer open for Sheeran, condemning both the Grammy-winning artist's comments and his donations to Palestinian relief efforts.
Multiple groups, including a United Nations Commission of Inquiry, the International Association of Genocide Scholars and Israeli human rights organizations B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel, have said Israel's actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank following Hamas' attack on Oct. 7, 2023, constitute a genocide, with the Gaza Ministry of Health confirming in June that the death toll since Oct. 7, 2023, had surpassed 73,000, PBS News reported. Still, Fetterman has remained resolute in his support for Israel and its actions in the region.
Fetterman addressed Macklemore's comments on Sept. 17, telling TMZ the rapper should "stay in your lane."
"I think I've heard he's a musician of some kind, and he did something and put his political views in the middle of a concert," Fetterman said. "So then it is like, doesn't that guy get the irony of saying and doing that at a musical festival when 10/7 started when Hamas showed up to kill people during a concert at Nova?"
He also said that the $1 million Macklemore donated to Palestinian relief efforts would "go directly to Hamas."
"It's all going to Hamas, 100%," Fetterman said. "If you give any to those charities, it's going to Hamas."
Both Sheeran and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who was a driving force behind Macklemore's removal from Sheeran's tour, pledged $2 million "to aid the region to fight this humanitarian crisis," Kraft said in a statement posted to Gillette Stadium's social media.
Fetterman has consistently been an outspoken supporter of Israel and a vocal critic of those who speak in support of the Palestinian people. As protests calling for a ceasefire spread across college and university campuses, Fetterman decried the efforts and mocked students, calling the protests on Columbia University's campus the "pup tent intifada."
In a Washington Post column from May, Fetterman spoke of his support for Israel.
"In the wake of the war in Gaza, Iran-backed Hamas and Hezbollah have ramped up their attempts to dismantle our ally," he said. "I remained committed to fully backing the elimination of these terrorists and their leaders."More recently, Fetterman has said he would leave the Democratic party if Democrats stopped providing aid to Israel.
"If they put that in our platform — no aid for Israel — and officially become the anti-Israel party, then yeah, that’s a red line for me," Fetterman told NBC News. "Democrats, we always should support Israel. That’s our special ally, you know? In the only democracy in the entire region, that’s Israel. So I’m always proud to stand with Israel."
During a performance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month, Macklemore spoke about his support of the Palestinian people while introducing his song "Hind's Hall," a 2024 track referencing the name protestors gave Columbia University's Hamilton Hall. Named in honor of Hind Rajab, a Palestinian girl who appeared to have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in January 2024, according to an investigation by The Washington Post, protestors barricaded themselves inside and called on the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
"The truth is, a big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I can stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine," Macklemore said before performing the song, according to clips from the performance posted on social media. "I want those words to be loud and clear so the people all the way in Gaza, to the occupied West Bank, know that we have not forgotten about them."
He added that every person deserves "to know safety and peace before they know the sound of violence, to know the sounds of laughter on the playground before planes and bombs." His comments also referred to people living through conflict and humanitarian issues in Lebanon, Cuba, Congo, Sudan and Iran, as well as "all the people living in America that have to live in fear because of this terrorist organization, ICE," referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Ten days after his comments, Macklemore was dropped from the tour after Sheeran received a call from Kraft, the Gillette Stadium owner, where the tour was scheduled to perform later this month on Sept. 25 and 26. Macklemore stated in a Sept. 14 social media post that Sheeran said Kraft had forbidden Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium. Sheeran also said Kraft had rallied other stadium owners to prevent the tour from continuing at their venues unless Macklemore was dropped, according to Macklemore.
Sameen Chaudhry and Saman Shafiq contributed to this report.
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
