Anne Redwan
Role at the time: Artist in Gaza City, quoted by Reuters
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.”
Reuters wire report, September 18, 2026, on a mural painted in Gaza City honoring Macklemore after his removal from Ed Sheeran's tour. It also quotes Hussein Murtaja, who runs a Gaza mental-health organization for children, saying Macklemore's solidarity "matters more than the money he donated," and Toby Fricker, a UNICEF official, on the need for sustained rather than one-off support. CBS News carried the same reporting as a video segment on X; this record cites the fuller wire text via the Jerusalem Post republication, credited to Reuters and photographer Dawoud Abu Alkas.
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.