Some concert goers are calling for artist Macklemore to be removed from Ed Sheeran's Loop tour after he used part of his opening performance on Friday and Saturday nights at MetLife Stadium to share his pro-Palestinian views about the war in Gaza.
Others who attended the show are applauding Macklemore for speaking his mind.
Clips from the concert shared online show Macklemore say, "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, according to clips from his set posted on social media.
Macklemore performs at MetLife Stadium on Sept. 5, 2026.
Activist_Lens
It was an opening performance Long Island resident Lauren Chizner said made the Friday event feel more like a one-sided political rally than an evening of music about love.
"Everybody around us starts cheering and we're like, 'Oh, God, like, okay, is he just gonna say that?' But then there proceeds to be on the screen, this huge screen, with like a video and it's 'free Palestine,'" Chizner said.
"It was big on a screen with the whole pre-planned video with IDF soldiers as Nazis," she added.
Chizner said a group of Jews and Israelis left their seats for the rest of Macklemore's set and returned when Sheeran took the stage.
The next night, Israeli American Nili Genuth said Macklemore repeated the speech and performance, so she also left and returned for Sheeran.
"I don't need any political comment, even if you're on my side," said Genuth. "I want to listen to music."
Genuth and Chizner have asked Ticketmaster for refunds. The company referred them to event organizers who they say have not responded.
"We both looked at each other like, 'We have to get out of here.' Like this was, you just feel like you had this target on you," Chizner said of the Macklemore concert experience.
Samantha Sommer also was in the audience and applauded Macklemore's performance.
"We should commend artists who are using their platform to speak on something that they feel very passionately about," Sommer said. "I think that wanting all humans to have equal rights shouldn't be controversial."
Macklemore has been criticized for using imagery and rhetoric that some consider antisemitic, dating to 2014.
The Israeli American Council started a petition addressed to Ed Sheeran, his management company, and leadership of all concert venues to remove Macklemore from the remainder of the tour.
It says, in part, "...the message relies on selective imagery, biased messaging and disputed claims presented to a massive audience as a fact," and "Keep Ed Sheeran's Loop tour about music -- not political propaganda."
Macklemore on Monday posted on Instagram, "Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial."
The post included a video from his speech at the weekend concert. In the speech he also said, "To all my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you."
"I don't understand honestly why it is so surprising that someone like Macklemore would want to speak out about an issue like this," said Sebastian Javadpoor, a Columbia University Law student who said he helped organize the controversial encampment on the campus in 2024. "In all honesty, when artists speak about, for example, wanting to defund the police, abolish ICE, they don't receive that controversy."
Greg Sholette, a CUNY Graduate Center professor emeritus of critical theory, said artists have long shared political views in the musical space, even when it's unexpected.
"It's surprising to see so much controversy, but in a way it's good because it gets a discussion like this one going," Sholette said.
The Anti-Defamation League called Macklemore's comments "completely unacceptable."
Ed Sheeran and his team did not return multiple requests for comment.
CBS News New York also reached out to MetLife stadium for comment and did not hear back.
Controversy swirls following Pro-Palestinian comments made by Macklemore at MetLife Stadium before Ed Sheeran concert
/ CBS New York
Some concert goers are calling for artist Macklemore to be removed from Ed Sheeran's Loop tour after he used part of his opening performance on Friday and Saturday nights at MetLife Stadium to share his pro-Palestinian views about the war in Gaza.
Others who attended the show are applauding Macklemore for speaking his mind.
Clips from the concert shared online show Macklemore say, "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, according to clips from his set posted on social media.
He then performed his song "Hind's Hall," which was inspired by the pro-Palestinian demonstrations that took place at Columbia University, including the illegal student takeover of a building.
It was an opening performance Long Island resident Lauren Chizner said made the Friday event feel more like a one-sided political rally than an evening of music about love.
"Everybody around us starts cheering and we're like, 'Oh, God, like, okay, is he just gonna say that?' But then there proceeds to be on the screen, this huge screen, with like a video and it's 'free Palestine,'" Chizner said.
"It was big on a screen with the whole pre-planned video with IDF soldiers as Nazis," she added.
Chizner said a group of Jews and Israelis left their seats for the rest of Macklemore's set and returned when Sheeran took the stage.
The next night, Israeli American Nili Genuth said Macklemore repeated the speech and performance, so she also left and returned for Sheeran.
"I don't need any political comment, even if you're on my side," said Genuth. "I want to listen to music."
Genuth and Chizner have asked Ticketmaster for refunds. The company referred them to event organizers who they say have not responded.
"We both looked at each other like, 'We have to get out of here.' Like this was, you just feel like you had this target on you," Chizner said of the Macklemore concert experience.
Samantha Sommer also was in the audience and applauded Macklemore's performance.
"We should commend artists who are using their platform to speak on something that they feel very passionately about," Sommer said. "I think that wanting all humans to have equal rights shouldn't be controversial."
Macklemore has been criticized for using imagery and rhetoric that some consider antisemitic, dating to 2014.
The Israeli American Council started a petition addressed to Ed Sheeran, his management company, and leadership of all concert venues to remove Macklemore from the remainder of the tour.
It says, in part, "...the message relies on selective imagery, biased messaging and disputed claims presented to a massive audience as a fact," and "Keep Ed Sheeran's Loop tour about music -- not political propaganda."
Macklemore on Monday posted on Instagram, "Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial."
The post included a video from his speech at the weekend concert. In the speech he also said, "To all my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you."
"I don't understand honestly why it is so surprising that someone like Macklemore would want to speak out about an issue like this," said Sebastian Javadpoor, a Columbia University Law student who said he helped organize the controversial encampment on the campus in 2024. "In all honesty, when artists speak about, for example, wanting to defund the police, abolish ICE, they don't receive that controversy."
Greg Sholette, a CUNY Graduate Center professor emeritus of critical theory, said artists have long shared political views in the musical space, even when it's unexpected.
"It's surprising to see so much controversy, but in a way it's good because it gets a discussion like this one going," Sholette said.
The Anti-Defamation League called Macklemore's comments "completely unacceptable."
Ed Sheeran and his team did not return multiple requests for comment.
CBS News New York also reached out to MetLife stadium for comment and did not hear back.
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