<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><em>Washington Examiner</em> columnist <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/joe-concha/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Joe Concha</a> criticized rapper Macklemore for his pro-Palestinian remarks made during Ed Sheeran’s tour, which received backlash from <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/jews/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jewish</a> and pro-<a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/israel/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Israel</a> groups.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“People just want to hear good music,” Concha stated on <em>Fox & Friends First</em>. “They want a concert, they don’t want a campus protest. And many people pay good money to go to such a concert. And they don’t want to be told, also, by the way, that ICE is a terror organization.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Macklemore was removed from the remaining U.S. dates of Sheeran’s Loop tour after he stated “free Palestine” onstage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">During a speech on September 4, the rapper expressed his desire for people in Gaza and the “occupied West Bank” to know they had not been forgotten. His comments led to backlash and a petition from the Israeli American Council calling for his removal from the tour.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Macklemore confirmed his removal from Sheeran’s tour in a statement on Instagram, following pushback from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft regarding Macklemore’s pro-Palestine stance. The Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium, where Macklemore and Sheeran were scheduled to perform later this month.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In his post, Macklemore emphasized his friendship with Sheeran and stated that his support for Palestinians during performances at MetLife Stadium was being misinterpreted as antisemitism.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Sheeran “told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with,” Macklemore said. “I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Macklemore acknowledged that “antisemitism is real” but argued that equating support for Palestinians with hatred of Jewish people “protects Israel from accountability.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Sounds almost like doubling down,” Concha remarked.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Concha commended Kraft for “standing up to this antisemite.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">He also referenced Macklemore’s past controversies, including a 2014 performance where he wore a bushy black beard, dark wig, and fake nose, which pro-Israel groups claimed resembled anti-Jewish caricatures. Macklemore stated that the resemblance was coincidental.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Concha criticized Macklemore for using the term “genocide” in relation to the conflict in <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/gaza/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Gaza</a>, citing a quote from comedian <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/bill-maher/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bill Maher</a>.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“There were 3 million Jews in Poland before <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/world-war-ii/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World War II</a>,” Maher said on <em>Real Time with Bill Maher</em>. “After? 45,000. That’s genocide.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Maher discussed the definition of genocide: “the act of killing, or trying to kill, an entire people.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“You can’t just change the definition of genocide to mean ‘counterattack in a war where people, including civilians, die,’” Maher added. “That’s every war. There have been about 73,000 deaths in Gaza, about 3% of the population. Tragic. Not genocide, not close.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Concha described the casualties in Gaza as an “unfortunate product of war,” emphasizing that Israel did not initiate the conflict on <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tag/october-7/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">October 7</a>.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Macklemore also referred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement as a “terrorist organization,” according to reporting from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/14/macklemore-dropped-ed-sheeran-tour-free-palestine" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">the <em>Guardian</em></a>.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The decision to remove Macklemore faced criticism from notable figures, including YouTuber Ms. Rachel, who creates children’s programming.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Ed Sheeran had an opportunity to show that we won’t be bullied into punishing people for supporting Palestine,” she stated on Instagram. “Instead he caved to people who refuse to accept what the world knows. A genocide is happening in Gaza. We all need to speak out against it.”</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">“Think about people paying the money to see these concerts, and maybe they just don’t want to be lectured,” Concha concluded. “It’s really that simple, and I think Ms. Rachel, obviously, go back to entertaining kids.”</p>