Quakers and the Macklemore-Sheeran controversy

I was surprised when I realized this current controversy surrounding musician and activist Macklemore being forced out of Ed Sheeran’s concert tour provides another way of looking at Quakers’ history since settling on this land.

Macklemore has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli-American genocide occurring in Gaza and the West Bank for years. He shouted “Free Palestine” performing “Hind’s Hall” at the September 5 MetLife show, and Patriots owner Robert Kraft pushed venues to bar him over it.

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran said the decision to remove Macklemore was not made by him (Sheeran). That he has always tried to maintain his political neutrality.

I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed

Ed Sheeran

But “neutral” is rarely actually about being neutral. It is about being aligned with the current power structures, regardless of how unjust they are.

Ed Sheeran’s problem is that although he can say he did not make the decision to remove Macklemore, he in fact made the decision to accept the directive of the tour’s producers for Macklemore’s removal.

One irony of all this is Sheeran said he wanted to protect the jobs of the other musical acts on the tour. And now those jobs have indeed been lost, but because those performers decided to also leave the tour in support of Macklemore.

Colonialism

The Irish acts Rowe and Beoga, who were also on Sheeran’s tour, each said they understand colonialism and genocide.

Aaron Rowe and Beoga each cited their country’s history in their statements explaining their decision. “We are Irish people who understand colonialism. As founding members of the Irish Artists for Palestine movement, we are committed activists for justice and will continue to be,” Beoga said.

Rowe called Sheeran a friend and said the British singer-songwriter changed his life. “But as Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation,” he said, adding that he couldn’t “stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up.”

Ed Sheeran’s tour in trouble after opening acts drop out in solidarity with rapper Macklemore, NPR, Sept 16, 2026

---

I didn’t need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say.
Free Palestine.
But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”

Macklemore

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas said on Instagram. “I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”

Finneas

“Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”

Lukas Graham

What can we do?

This is an opportunity for non-Native people to explore this history and these concepts. And teaching opportunities for families with children especially. This blog site is one of my efforts to build awareness and offer suggestions for next steps.

I am part of the Decolonial Repair Network (DRN) that was created for non-Native people to learn about settler-colonialism and its consequences. Among other things, we meet monthly via Zoom. You can sign up for the mailing list here
https://www.honornativelandfund.org/decolonialrepairnetwork

Sources

• A timeline of the ‘Free Palestine’ Macklemore and Ed Sheeran tour controversy — ABC News
• Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour following Palestine advocacy — Al Jazeera
• Which artists have pulled out of Ed Sheeran’s tour over Palestine? — Al Jazeera
• Macklemore’s Full Remarks on Israel and Gaza as Rapper Faces Backlash — Newsweek
• Ed Sheeran’s “Neutrality” Is a Watershed Moment for Mainstreaming Palestine Solidarity — The Intercept
• Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour After Onstage ‘Free Palestine’ Statements — Rolling Stone
• Elie Wiesel — Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, 1986

• Desmond Tutu
  “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”
• Paulo Freire(from Pedagogy of the Oppressed)
  “Washing one’s hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful, not to be neutral.”
• Dante Alighieri(frequently paraphrased via the Inferno by modern figures like JFK)
  “The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.”
• Martin Luther King Jr.(from the Letter from Birmingham Jail)
  “I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.”
• Audre Lorde
  “Your silence will not protect you.”