Lucy Caldwell predicts Macklemore’s tour removal will backfire
Political consultant and board adviser writing on her personal X account
“This will backfire spectacularly on Kraft et al (and proponents of the current Israeli government around war in Gaza). Most of us were unaware of Macklemore’s on-stage advocacy. Now, in the aftermath of this move by Sheeran (direct result of Kraft’s ultimatum), Macklemore is going to get an insane amount of positive earned media.”

The full case
Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” speech and removal from Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Caldwell predicts the reported removal will generate positive media for Macklemore and be counterproductive to Robert Kraft and proponents of Israel’s current government.
Before the quotation
Caldwell quote-posted reporting that Macklemore had been removed from scheduled Ed Sheeran tour dates after his ‘Free Palestine’ stage speech.
After the quotation
She predicts the reported action will elevate Macklemore’s profile and be counterproductive for Kraft and supporters of Israel’s current government. The post does not independently establish any decision-maker’s motive or coordination.
How this statement is classified
Caldwell predicts the reported removal will backfire and generate positive attention for Macklemore.
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- People and groups discussed
- Macklemore
More from this case
Read the full case“Glad to see Macklemore off Ed Sheeran’s tour. For years, Macklemore has pushed antisemitic tropes and demonized Israel and Israelis. Now he certainly has the 1A right to speak out and express his views, but demonizing Jews and Israelis shouldn’t be rewarded.”Read statement
“The moral narcissism of this guy. People don’t generally pay to go to concerts (certainly not Ed Sheeran ones) to get lectured by a dropkick about geopolitics, and objecting to that doesn’t make them bad people. It’s like giving a speech about cancer at someone’s wedding and then saying well cancer is more important than your feelings and so it’s my right and duty to give a speech about cancer and if you complain about it you obviously don’t care about cancer. There are layers of logical fallacy here. As I’ve noted before, sufferers of Israel derangement syndrome think that everybody else should be as deranged as they are, and that those who are not are morally inferior.”Read statement
“It’s so incredibly disappointing that Macklemore, my constituent, was removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour because of his comments in support of the Palestinian people. We should all be outraged that powerful people are more upset about what an artist says than the displacement, starvation, and killing of innocent Palestinian children and families. Thank you, Macklemore, for speaking up. This is a moment for us to come together, find our moral conscience as a nation, and end this genocide.”Read statement