Theo Von
Role at the time: Comedian and podcast host, speaking on his own podcast "This Past Weekend"
Defended or excused
Statement summary
On his podcast 'This Past Weekend,' Theo Von defended Macklemore after his Gaza remarks and tour removal. Read the quotation and the surrounding podcast context.
“Macklemore lost his job because he spoke up. It feels like this is probably the biggest atrocity we've witnessed in our lifetime on our phones. Seeing the killings, people getting murdered, children getting killed. The Israeli government has turned Gaza into a video game basically for killing people, more specifically the killing of children. Every time they're like Hamas is hiding, that's Hamas. It's like that's a 4-month-old.”
Read the original text (opens in a new tab)Transcript of Theo Von's "This Past Weekend" #684, "Bad Haircut"Solo segment approximately 21 minutes in, discussing Macklemore's removal from Ed Sheeran's tour and the war in Gaza.
Why we used this label
Von frames the removal as retaliation for legitimate advocacy ('lost his job because he spoke up') and goes on to endorse the substance of what Macklemore was speaking about, describing the war's civilian toll in strongly critical terms. This defends Macklemore's speech and, by extension, opposes the removal; it is not merely a characterization dispute, since Von affirmatively agrees with the underlying advocacy.