Boy George on Macklemore’s disclaimer: “Too late! Own your hate!”
Boy GeorgeSinger and Culture Club vocalist, posting on his own X account
Boy George dismissed Macklemore’s address to “my Jewish brothers and sisters” as insincere, citing an allegation about a past costume and salute, and told him to “own your hate.”
“It’s like people saying @macklmoore said ‘my Jewish brothers and sisters’ after dressing as caricature of a Jew and doing a nazi salute? Too late! Own your hate!”
Original post
Where this statement fits
Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” speech and removal from Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour
At two Ed Sheeran concerts at MetLife Stadium, Macklemore called for a free Palestine, accused Israel of apartheid and genocide, and said criticism of Israel was not criticism of Jewish people. After venue objections, tour promoter Messina Touring Group said he would not perform the remaining U.S. Loop Tour dates. Critics characterized the performance as hostile or inappropriate; Macklemore defended it as a call for equal treatment.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Posted the evening of September 18, 2026. The line Boy George is dismissing is Macklemore’s MetLife Stadium statement of September 5, which opened “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters” before saying criticism of Israel is not criticism of them. The allegation about a costume and a salute refers to material outside this dispute and is Boy George’s characterisation, not an established fact; it is reproduced here as part of his statement, not adopted.
Before the quotation
Posted on the evening of September 18, thirteen days after Macklemore told a MetLife Stadium audience: “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you”.
After the quotation
Boy George is himself the subject of a separate case, case 9, concerning the removal of his pro-Israel song from Bandcamp. The claim about a costume and a salute concerns conduct outside this dispute and is recorded as his assertion rather than as established fact.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
On Macklemore’s conduct, Boy George condemns him, rejecting as insincere the disclaimer with which Macklemore framed his “Free Palestine” remarks and imputing hatred to him. This is his second recorded position on the case and is consistent in direction with his September 7 statement, while going further: the earlier one criticised the slogan as shallow, this one attacks Macklemore’s motives directly. “Challenged the characterization” does not fit, because he is not disputing how someone else described events but delivering his own verdict on the speaker.
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- People and groups discussed
- Macklemore
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Jewish Voice for Peace says the backlash to Macklemore's removal shows support for pro-Palestine speech
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The Dispute Index. "Boy George on Macklemore’s disclaimer: “Too late! Own your hate!”". First published: 2026-09-18. Last updated: 2026-09-26. https://disputeindex.com/events/1090-boy-george-dismissed-macklemore-s-address-to-my