Long-Forgotten Rapper Hijacks Ed Sheeran Concert With Bizarre Islamist Propaganda

A Jewish advocacy group is demanding Ed Sheeran fire Macklemore as his opening act, accusing the rapper of hijacking two MetLife stadium shows to deliver anti-Israel messaging the group says amounts to antisemitic propaganda.

The Israeli-American Council launched a petition Sunday calling for the “Thrift Shop” rapper’s removal from the remainder of Sheeran’s “Loop Tour.” Macklemore, born Benjamin Haggerty, performed as an opener at the East Rutherford, New Jersey, stadium on Friday and Saturday nights, telling the crowd of more than 80,000 that he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know “they had not been forgotten” before leading chants of “Free Palestine.” Wearing a keffiyeh over his shoulders, he then performed his 2024 protest song, “Hind’s Hall,” while images from Gaza and pro-Palestinian campus encampments played on the stadium’s video screens.

Macklemore’s last major moment of mainstream attention prior to his post-October 7 activism came with 2012’s “Same Love,” a song in which he recounted believing as a child that he might be gay.

“Hind’s Hall” takes its name from the moniker stadium demonstrators gave Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall after occupying the building during 2024 campus protests, and from Hind Rajab, a young Palestinian girl killed in Gaza. The IAC’s petition argues the song choice was “not incidental,” noting that some of the campus unrest it commemorates involved trespassing, building takeovers and vandalism.

“This was an Ed Sheeran concert – not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event,” the petition states, adding that “freedom of expression does not mean freedom from responsibility.” The group, which says it represents more than 150,000 Israeli-Americans and belongs to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, addressed its petition to Sheeran, his tour management, upcoming tour venues and promoter Live Nation.

The advocacy group StopAntisemitism amplified the controversy on X, posting video of the performance and writing that “Jewish patrons should not be subjected to this propaganda.” The group also revived criticism of an earlier Macklemore bit in which the he appeared onstage dressed as an Orthodox Jew with an exaggerated prosthetic nose, calling on the rapper to issue “apologies and refunds” to fans.

Here we go again – despite massive backlash surrounding Macklemore opening for @edsheeran, a repeat occurred a few moments ago at @MetLifeStadium in New Jersey.

Jewish patrons should not be subjected to this propaganda. pic.twitter.com/dRvFkHWA2T

— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) September 6, 2026

As of publication, Sheeran had not publicly responded, and Macklemore remains listed as an opener for the tour’s upcoming dates.

Macklemore has built a lengthy track record of pro-Palestinian activism since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, appearing at a Washington, D.C. rally that November to declare Israel’s military campaign in Gaza “a genocide.” He released the original “Hind’s Hall” in May 2024 and a sequel later that year, donating proceeds to a Palestinian refugee aid group. At a September 2024 Seattle festival, he led a crowd in chanting “f*ck America” before debuting “Hind’s Hall 2” — remarks that got him pulled from a Las Vegas festival days later.

The rapper’s commercial peak came over a decade ago, in 2012, with singles “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us” selling 13.4 million and 9.8 million digital units, respectively, according to ChartMasters.