Wajahat Ali calls Macklemore's removal a "generational fumble" and a cultural turn against Israel

Wajahat AliWriter and political commentator, host of The Left Hook, appearing as a panel guest on Piers Morgan Uncensored

On the September 16 episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored, writer and commentator Wajahat Ali argued that removing Macklemore from Ed Sheeran's tour was a "generational fumble" by Israel, Robert Kraft and pro-Israel figures generally. He compared the reaction to the global turn against South African apartheid in the 1980s, said Israel had "lost the youth" and "lost the culture," attributed that shift to people watching what he called a genocide on their phones over two and a half years, and argued that pressure would amplify rather than suppress Macklemore's message — renaming the Streisand effect the "Sheeran effect." Morgan replied that Israel's popularity had been "consistently plunging" and that a significant majority in America now held a negative opinion of Israel. Ali's characterisations of Israel's conduct, of Kraft's coordination and of public opinion are his own.

“This is a generational fumble by Israel and Robert Kraft and anyone who's pro-Israel. What you're witnessing in real time, Piers, this is fascinating. What you and I are witnessing is what happened in the '80s with the global turn against South African apartheid. Israel has lost the plot. They've lost the youth. They've lost the culture. It's done. No matter how many pro-Israel apologists come on the show, I want you all to know it's over. You've lost the youth. People have become radicalized because they've seen a genocide on their phone for the past two and a half years. And no matter how much, if you will, power you exercise against them to crush them, what's going to happen from here on out now, Piers, is you're going to see more and more people wake up, which is what happened right now. The Streisand effect should be called the Sheeran effect.”

Original video

Watch the original video (opens in a new tab)Piers Morgan Uncensored: "Ed Sheeran Is a COWARD" — Macklemore Dropped From Tour Over 'Free Palestine' Speech23:30–26:12: Wajahat Ali's uninterrupted turn; 25:29–26:12: quoted passage on a generational and cultural turn against Israel; 26:14–26:36: Piers Morgan's reply. Episode chapter marker "Israel's declining popularity in America" is set at 26:22, within Morgan's reply.
Macklemore performing onstage at Hovefestivalen in 2013

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.

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Source and context

Original video

Piers Morgan Uncensored: "Ed Sheeran Is a COWARD" — Macklemore Dropped From Tour Over 'Free Palestine' Speech (opens in a new tab)23:30–26:12: Wajahat Ali's uninterrupted turn; 25:29–26:12: quoted passage on a generational and cultural turn against Israel; 26:14–26:36: Piers Morgan's reply. Episode chapter marker "Israel's declining popularity in America" is set at 26:22, within Morgan's reply.

About this source

Full 1:03:44 episode published to the Piers Morgan Uncensored YouTube channel on September 16, 2026. The episode description lists the panel as Ana Kasparian, Wajahat Ali, Joe Walsh and Luai Ahmed, with former Israeli prime ministers Ehud Olmert and Naftali Bennett appearing later. Morgan hands to Ali at 23:30; Ali speaks without interruption until 26:12, moving from a defence of Macklemore and criticism of Robert Kraft and Ed Sheeran into the argument that the episode marks a generational and cultural turn against Israel. Morgan replies at 26:14 that Israel's popularity has been "consistently plunging." The quoted wording is our transcription of the video audio. Ali's characterisations of Israel's conduct and of public opinion are his own.

Archived copy (opens in a new tab)

Before the quotation

Piers Morgan hands to Ali at 23:30 during a panel segment on Macklemore's removal. Immediately before the quoted passage Ali rebuts the antisemitism charge — "Facts matter. 12 years ago when Macklemore did that, he apologized. The ADL, the Anti-Defamation League's a Foxman ... said, we accept his apology" — lists other figures he says have been penalised for pro-Palestinian speech, and says of the removal: "It's Robert Kraft, a billionaire who is a friend of Israel and Israel's occupation, who has put his thumb on the scale and has literally announced, I got all the other stadium owners to kick Macklemore out. What Ed Sheeran should have done is said, F yourself, but check it out. If people were so offended, people would have booed. I saw that clip. People applauded. Furthermore, his own touring band and all the opening acts are with Macklemore."

After the quotation

Morgan responds at 26:14: "there may be some truth to that because Israel's popularity has been consistently plunging. And we've got to a place I never thought we'd get to in America in my lifetime where there is significant majority negative opinion of Israel, and that should be of great concern to all Israelis and to Jews around the world." He adds that he does not believe the current Israeli government cares. The panel then moves to a reported Houthi drone attack near Mecca, an unrelated topic.

How this statement is classified

Defended or excused

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

Why this label?

Ali affirmatively defends the speech before making the argument quoted here: he rebuts the antisemitism charge by citing the Anti-Defamation League's acceptance of Macklemore's apology for a costume incident twelve years earlier, says the MetLife crowd applauded rather than booed, and says Ed Sheeran should have refused to drop him. He then condemns Robert Kraft's role in the removal. That combination places him with Tucker Carlson (853) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (802), who likewise defend the speech while condemning the removal, rather than with speakers such as Mehdi Hasan (587) who criticise the removal without assessing the merits of the speech. The closest competing label is “Mixed or conditional”; it loses because Ali attaches no condition, concedes nothing to the critics' characterisation, and expresses a single consistent evaluation across the turn.

Recorded on
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People and groups discussed
Macklemore, Robert Kraft, Ed Sheeran

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Wajahat Ali calls Macklemore's removal a "generational fumble" and a cultural turn against Israel
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The Dispute Index. "Wajahat Ali calls Macklemore's removal a "generational fumble" and a cultural turn against Israel". First published: 2026-09-17. Last updated: 2026-09-22. https://disputeindex.com/events/947-on-the-september-16-episode-of-piers-morgan