Anne Redwan
Role at the time: Artist in Gaza City, quoted by Reuters
Defended or excused
Statement summary
Anne Redwan, a 26-year-old artist in Gaza City, designed and painted a mural with fellow artist Qusai al-Helo depicting Macklemore wrapped in a Palestinian flag, captioned "Thank you for using your voice for Palestine." She told Reuters the mural was meant to thank him and that she and other Gaza artists are waiting for support from anyone who recognizes what she described as the persecution they live under.
“We wanted to send a message to thank rapper Macklemore in this simple way. As an artist living under siege here in Gaza, we are waiting for support from anyone who can see the persecution we live under. We can paint murals bigger than this to express our feelings.”
Open source (opens in a new tab)Mural of rapper Macklemore painted in Gaza after Sheeran tour furor · ReutersReuters wire report, republished by The Jerusalem Post; also carried as a CBS News video segment.
Why we used this label
Redwan's mural and quotation directly praise Macklemore for speaking out, which endorses the conduct under scrutiny. There is no competing label to weigh against here; the statement is unambiguous thanks and endorsement, with no qualification or condition attached.