Ari Emanuel
Role at the time: Executive chair and chief executive officer of TKO Group Holdings and executive chairman of WME Group, in an interview on The Daily Show
Statement summary
Ari Emanuel, asked by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show whether what Macklemore said on stage was hate, said he did not think it was completely understanding the facts and that it was belittling to Jewish people.
“I don't think it was completely understanding the facts. And I think it was belittling to Jewish people, too.”
ClutchPoints report, published September 23, 2026, on Ari Emanuel's Daily Show remarks about the Ed Sheeran, Macklemore and Robert Kraft dispute. It quotes Jon Stewart's question and Emanuel's answer and notes that WME represents Macklemore.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The case looks at Macklemore's speech at MetLife Stadium and the response to it. Asked whether what Macklemore said on stage was hate, Emanuel said it was not completely understanding the facts and was belittling to Jewish people. That is a direct criticism of what Macklemore said, so we labeled it Condemned rather than Challenged the characterization.