You may have already heard about the controversy: Ed Sheeran had antisemitic rapper Macklemore (aka Shmeckelless) open for him at MetLife Stadium over the weekend, and he delivered…his brand of vile hatred of the Jewish state.
Wearing a keffiyeh, the rapper performed Hind’s Hall (a reference to the vile protests at the Columbia University campus) with Gaza footage showing on the screens, getting a large proportion of the audience to chant ‘Free Palestine.’
Macklemore opened for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium wearing a keffiyeh, performed "Hind's Hall" with Gaza footage on the screens, and told 80,000 people he wanted those in Gaza and the West Bank to know "they have not been forgotten."
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 6, 2026
He said every human being deserves "the… pic.twitter.com/4J7fB1zEI4
Jews in the audience – who had paid good money to see Ed Sheeran – were aghast, and some even felt the need to walk out.
But this is what one could expect of Shmeckelless. Ed Sheeran? It is a huge disappointment that he had Macklemore open for him, given his previous antisemitism. And even if you were to give him the benefit of the doubt and suggest he did not know any of this, he and his team have remained silent in the face of Jews everywhere expressing their hurt over what transpired.
And it is not like Ed Sheeran does not know how to speak out. When stories circulated about him performing for IDF troops last year, he made sure to clarify:
A statement from Ed on his IG Stories earlier today. – EDHQ pic.twitter.com/RqNtK05e2l
— Ed Sheeran HQ (@edsheeran) January 21, 2025
The contrast could hardly be starker. When Ed Sheeran thought people might mistakenly believe he had shown support for Israeli soldiers, he found his voice pretty quickly. But when his own opening act hijacked his stage to demonize the Jewish state – leaving Jewish fans shocked enough to walk out – suddenly there is nothing to say.
Not just that, as of the time of this post he has not dropped Macklemore as opening act.
Disappointing stuff from Ed Sheeran. Not so from his fellow singer and songwriter Pink, a proud Jew who essentially called him and Macklemore out by sharing a post from the group Stop Antisemitism:
We thank @Pink for her solidarity and we demand refunds for every attendee subjected to Jew-hatred.
— End Jew Hatred (@EndJewHatred) September 7, 2026
Following Macklemore’s pro-terror performance last night, Pink shared a post on Instagram stories condemning the performers actions.
Macklemore is the same artist who has said… pic.twitter.com/0dpd0b3ibd
And our ally Boy George went even more ballistic.
I have to echo what @BoyGeorge said https://t.co/ZSccpybU9w pic.twitter.com/M6ko5nH9YW
— David Lange (@Israellycool) September 7, 2026
As for Ed Sheeran, it’s time for him to decide what he actually stands for – because letting Jew hatred share his stage is far more than just a disappointment.
It’s complicity.
