Massive Attack have weighed in on the decision to have Macklemore kicked off Ed Sheeran’s tour due to his on-stage comments in support of Palestine.
When on stage in New Jersey recently opening for Sheeran, the rapper made an impassioned speech calling for “all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality” and for a “free Palestine”.
He was later taken off the tour following the Israeli-American Council calling for his removal – claiming he had used his platform to “advance a one-sided political agenda”.
Macklemore defended his comments, saying striving for equality “should never be controversial, and claimed that after Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, started a campaign against Sheeran to drop him or the shows couldn’t go ahead.
Kraft went on to speak out to defend his actions, and Sheeran claimed that he was “not complicit” or responsible for the decision, adding that he had spent the past week “trying to build bridges, to find a solution” but was “unable to do so”.
Since then, previous support acts have spoken out about the controversy, current support acts lined-up have all backed out of the tour in solidarity with Macklemore and the people of Palestine, and Roger Waters have called Sheeran a “little prick” for not fighting harder to keep the rapper on the tour.
Now, Massive Attack have also shared their stance on the situation, and showed backing for Macklemore while calling out Ed Sheeran for his “neutrality”.
Taking to Instagram, the band shared: “Entertainment can never be bigger than resisting the apartheid & genocide of fellow human beings. ‘Neutrality’ in the face of the slaughter of more than 20,000 children can never be neutrality.”
They also said that “no artist should tolerate the censorship of another artist, however many millions of dollars are in play” and that the “arc of state, corporate and media silence that allowed a genocide to take place seeks to coerce high profile artists and actors into that silence.”
Concluding, they added that they “stand in solidarity with all artists risking their careers in defence of the rights of the Palestinian people, & against the illegal occupation, apartheid, war crimes & ongoing genocide perpetrated by the State of Israel.”
Massive Attack have been vocal in their support for Palestine for years now and have boycotted performing in Israel since 1999.
Earlier this year, Robert Del Naja was among more than 500 people arrested during a London demonstration against the ban on Palestine Action. He later criticised what he called the government’s “draconian” response and described his arrest as “unlawful”.
In February, Massive Attack responded to the original ban on Palestine Action being deemed unlawful by the High Court, claiming then-Prime Minister Keir Starmer “wanted to punish those who made their complicity in a genocide visible”.
Over the summer, they performed at the Star Theatre in Singapore and held the flag over their heads from the stage and joined in with audience chants of “Free Palestine”.
Two unnamed band members were subsequently issued with “stern warnings” and banned from re-entering Singapore, while authorities said they would not approve any future applications for the group to perform in the country.
They went on to claim that their entire band were detained and some had their passports confiscated in Singapore after displaying the Palestinian flag on stage.
Sheeran is yet to respond to his support acts pulling out, or to the comments from both Massive Attack and Roger Waters.
