Wajahat Ali
Role at the time: Writer and political commentator, host of The Left Hook, appearing as a panel guest on Piers Morgan Uncensored
Statement summary
On the September 16 episode of Piers Morgan Uncensored, writer and commentator Wajahat Ali argued that removing Macklemore from Ed Sheeran's tour was a "generational fumble" by Israel, Robert Kraft and pro-Israel figures generally. He compared the reaction to the global turn against South African apartheid in the 1980s, said Israel had "lost the youth" and "lost the culture," attributed that shift to people watching what he called a genocide on their phones over two and a half years, and argued that pressure would amplify rather than suppress Macklemore's message — renaming the Streisand effect the "Sheeran effect." Morgan replied that Israel's popularity had been "consistently plunging" and that a significant majority in America now held a negative opinion of Israel. Ali's characterisations of Israel's conduct, of Kraft's coordination and of public opinion are his own.