Dearborn mayor invites Macklemore to perform in the city

Mayor of Dearborn, Michigan

Hey @macklemore, if they don’t want you performing in their stadiums, you’re always welcome in Dearborn. Come put on a show here.
Open source (opens in a new tab)Ed Sheeran addresses Macklemore’s tour exit amid Robert Kraft boycott claimsPassages quoting Sheeran, Aaron Rowe, Ms. Rachel, Kneecap, Mayor Hammoud and Rep. Jayapal.

Source and context

Reporting

Ed Sheeran addresses Macklemore’s tour exit amid Robert Kraft boycott claims (opens in a new tab)Passages quoting Sheeran, Aaron Rowe, Ms. Rachel, Kneecap, Mayor Hammoud and Rep. Jayapal.

About this source

NBC News reports Sheeran’s September 15 Instagram statement and rounds up public figures who voiced support for Macklemore, including Kneecap and the mayor of Dearborn. Published 11:03 a.m. ET and updated 3:18 p.m. ET on September 15, 2026.

Before the quotation

Dearborn is home to the largest Arab American community in the United States.

After the quotation

The invitation was posted on X. It does not address Sheeran, the promoter or the venues by name.

How this statement is classified

Defended or excused

Case context: Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” speech and removal from Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour

The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.

Why this label?

Relative to Macklemore’s speech and removal, Hammoud answers the exclusion with a public invitation, contrasting the stadiums that dropped him with his own city. The offer is an attributable rejection of the exclusion rather than neutral hospitality.

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Jonathan Greenblatt

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.
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Ben Rhodes

When your only response to dissent is to use power and wealth to make it go away, you are going to have the opposite effect. People can see what’s happening in the Middle East with their eyes and don’t want to be told what they’re allowed to think by people who own stadiums.
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Richard Boyd Barrett

So proud of Aaron. A brave and selfless act to stand with Palestine & humanity against Israel’s barbarism and the billionaires that support their crimes. Aaron you have upheld Ireland’s noble tradition of resistance to colonialism & Empire. So proud!
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