The Assassination of Macklemore by the Coward Ed Sheeran

<p>Macklemore walked onto the stage at MetLife Stadium and said two words: Free Palestine.</p><p>What followed became much bigger than a moment between songs.</p><p>Macklemore was removed from the remaining US dates of Ed Sheeran’s tour. The promoter said venues had objected to his continued involvement. Sheeran said the decision was not his, and that he had tried to find a way through the dispute.</p><p>Then the other artists started walking. Finneas. Lukas Graham. Aaron Rowe. Beoga.</p><p>Suddenly, this wasn’t simply a story about one rapper making a political statement. It became a story about power, money, free expression and the machinery behind the modern stadium tour.</p><p>In this episode of The Last Mixed Tape, I ask the uncomfortable question: Is Ed Sheeran a coward?</p><p>Sheeran describes himself as apolitical. He says his concerts should be places of safety, sanctuary and escape from politics. But what happens when politics enters the room anyway? What happens when the biggest artist on the stage has the power to challenge the machinery around him and chooses not to?</p><p>Macklemore has since pledged his $1 million in tour earnings to organisations supporting Palestinians. Robert Kraft has said Sheeran asked him to commit $2 million towards humanitarian relief.</p><p>And while the music industry argues over who was right and who was wrong, we cannot lose sight of the people at the centre of this story.</p><p>Palestinians living through the consequences of this war.</p><p>This is The Last Mixed Tape.</p><p>Free Palestine.</p><p><br></p>