Ms. Rachel
Role at the time: Children’s educator and video creator, writing on her own verified Instagram account
Defended or excused
Responding to
Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” speech on Ed Sheeran’s MetLife stage
“Ed Sheeran had an opportunity show that we won’t be bullied into punishing people for supporting Palestine.”
Why we used this label
Relative to Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian MetLife speech, the case’s reference point, Ms. Rachel supports speaking out for Palestine and rejects punishment for doing so. Her criticism of Sheeran’s response supports that defense; it does not condemn Macklemore’s speech.
Ms. Rachel criticizes Ed Sheeran over pressure against support for Palestine (opens in a new tab) - Ms. RachelPost DdR1LH3gYBP: text image, opening sentence; accompanying caption
Original text image and caption on Ms. Rachel’s verified Instagram account,. She criticizes Ed Sheeran for yielding to pressure to punish support for Palestine and urges opposition to what she calls genocide in Gaza.