Michael Rapaport slams 'clown' Macklemore for anti-Israel performance
Michael Rapaport slammed Macklemore as a "clown" after the rapper brought his pro-Palestinian message to Ed Sheeran’s concert stage.
Macklemore, 43, repeatedly called to "Free Palestine" and performed his anti-Israel song "Hind's Hall" while opening for Sheeran, 35, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey during shows on Friday and Saturday nights.
On Saturday, Rapaport, 56, who is Jewish and has become one of Hollywood’s most outspoken pro-Israel voices since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack, ripped Macklemore, born Benjamin Haggerty, in a blistering post on X.
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'Imagine going to see Ed Sheeran & this absolute no talent none singer non rapping non dancing clown Macklemore is opening & because he actually has no act or specific skill set he’s jumping around like dkc carrying on about a genocide that never happened in Gaza," Rapaport wrote, adding "This is a nightmare."
In another critical post on X, the comedian questioned Sheeran’s decision to bring Macklemore on as an opening act.
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"So Ed Sheeran is ok with this p--- stain opening up for him? Sweet Ed Sheeran?" Rapaport wrote.
Rapaport also reposted an article about the backlash to Macklemore's political messaging following the concerts, writing, "Calling this dude a ‘Rapper' is disrespectful to any actual ‘Rapper.’"
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Fox News Digital has reached out to Macklemore and Sheeran's representatives for comment.
In a video that Rapaport posted from the Friday night show, Macklemore, who wore a keffiyeh tied around his neck, was seen repeatedly chanting "Say free, free Palestine!" while music played as he walked around the stage and held up his microphone.
Macklemore, who will be opening for Sheeran during the U.S. leg of the "Shape of You" singer's Loop Tour, also delivered a speech in which he said that he wanted to use stages across America to advocate for Palestine.
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"A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine," Macklemore said in a video shared on social media.
"I said, ‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them," he continued.
"I have an 11-year-old daughter, her name is Sloan, she’s here tonight. And if any of you guys are parents, then you know that that love that you have for your kids cannot be put into words, right? I want to see her grow up, I want to see her go to school, to fall in love, to figure out meaning, purpose, joy, her existence on this planet. I want it to be the most beautiful possible."
"And I think that every single human being that walks this earth deserves that exact same feeling. To know safety and peace before they know the sound of violence, to know the sound of laughter on a playground before planes and bombs, for parents to be able to say bye to their kids in the morning and not have to wonder if this is going to be the last time they kiss their child goodbye."
"And if I let that fear I felt on the plane yesterday stop me from speaking my heart in order to keep my own comfort and the audience’s comfort, that is the day I no longer continue to be on stage," Macklemore added. "So, I say, ‘Free Palestine!’"
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Macklemore concluded his speech by calling for the freedom of other countries including America and blasting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
"I say, free America, free Cuba to the Congo to Sudan to Iran, and all the people in America who have to live in fear because of this terrorist organization ICE," he said.
Following his speech, Macklemore performed "Hind's Hall," a song inspired by the 2024 pro-Palestinian campus demonstrations," as footage from Gaza, pro-Palestinian protests, images of Israeli soldiers and pro-Palestinian messages were displayed on the stadium’s large screens.
The title of the song refers to Hamilton Hall, the Columbia University building that pro-Palestinian students occupied in April 2024 and renamed in honor of a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed in the Israel-Gaza war. The lyrics in "Hind's Hall" praised the anti-Israel encampments and protests on college campuses across the country and called out President Biden, the police and the music industry.
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Macklemore also repeated his pro-Palestinian messaging during Sheeran’s second MetLife Stadium show Saturday night, again calling for "Free Palestine" and performing his protest song "Hind’s Hall."
While some audience members cheered Macklemore's comments and joined the "Free Palestine" chant, the rapper's performance was met with backlash from other attendees.
One concertgoer said on X that he brought his wife and two daughters to Friday’s show as longtime Sheeran fans, but left disappointed after Macklemore’s set turned political. The fan said his daughters looked "completely confused" when Macklemore began chanting "Free Palestine," adding that he had taken them to "an Ed Sheeran concert, not to have an opening act lecture them about Middle East politics."
He said his family left their seats during Macklemore’s performance and returned after the rapper finished, praising Sheeran’s show as "phenomenal" but criticizing the singer for allowing Macklemore to perform again Saturday. "Friday might have been Macklemore’s decision. Saturday was yours," the concertgoer wrote, adding, "Tonight, you lost four of them. And I suspect plenty more."
Another concertgoer said he attended Saturday’s show in a company suite with 35 other people and was "embarrassed" and "shocked" by Macklemore’s set. The attendee said he had "always been a Macklemore fan," but after the rapper’s "political stunt," he could no longer support him or his music.
"When you go WOKE, you have to be prepared to lose fans," he wrote.
The concertgoer also denounced Sheeran for allowing Macklemore to return to the stage Saturday after the backlash from the previous night.
"After it happened on Friday, it should have immediately been stopped," he wrote, adding that he went to the show to hear "amazing music," not "Free Palestine" rants.
Two other concertgoers told Ynet, the English edition of Israel's largest new website, that they were unfamiliar with Macklemore before the show and unaware that he would be performing.
"We only found out there and we were in shock. It was really horrifying," they said.
"We immediately thought about everything our people have been through and how even when we’re abroad we still have to feel this antisemitism," they continued. "It was even harder because friends of ours were killed in the war and murdered at Nova. It was like a knife in the heart to hear him sing that way and hear people cheering."
The concertgoers said that some of the members in their group began crying and left the show before Sheeran's performance.
However, some social media users praised Macklemore for speaking up and expressed their support for the rapper's message.
"Huge respect for Ed Sheeran, but seeing Macklemore use his voice for Palestine made this moment mean so much more," one fan wrote on Instagram. "Respect to every artist who refuses to stay silent and uses their platform to speak up for humanity. Macklemore, we hear you."
"LOVE Macklemore, and good on him using his platform to speak out….his messaging is always spot on. Peace," another agreed.
"Free free Palestine. Love to Macklemore. Stay true," one fan chimed in.
"this was from last night!! I hope you get to perform this again tonight too!" a fan wrote alongside a clip from Macklemore's set.
"So happy we get to witness such history!" one fan commented.
"Honestly I loved this part of the concert !" another wrote.
"Music has always been a vital platform for human rights advocacy, not just mindless escape," wrote one X user. "Calling for peace, safety, and equality for Palestinians, Congolese, and Sudanese isn't antisemitic—it's pro-humanity. Macklemore explicitly stands for collective liberation and love."
"Art has always been political, why are you annoyed at an artist giving context to a song he released about the current state of the world you live in?" another fan commented on X. "Also, he was an opener, they could’ve just skipped his set! Although I hope Macklemore sings it louder next time!"
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Meanwhile, the Israeli-American Council launched a petition calling for Macklemore to be removed from Sheeran’s remaining tour dates.
"This was an Ed Sheeran concert – not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event," the petition read. "The issue is not whether Macklemore has the right to hold political views. The question is where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda."
Macklemore has been outspoken in his support for Palestinians since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. In November 2023, Macklemore spoke at a pro-Palestinian rally in Washington, D.C., where he said, "I don’t know enough. But I know enough that this is a genocide."
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The rapper's political messaging has also sparked backlash before. In 2024, he addressed criticism after saying "f--- America" during a pro-Palestinian charity concert in Seattle, later writing that he remained "unwavering in my support for a Free Palestine."
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Israel has been accused by some human rights groups, legal scholars and foreign governments of committing genocide during the war in Gaza due to the scale of Palestinian deaths, widespread destruction and mass displacement.
South Africa brought a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which ordered Israel in 2024 to take steps to prevent acts of genocide while the case proceeds. Israel has strongly denied accusations of genocide, saying its military campaign is directed at Hamas, not Palestinian civilians, and that it warns civilians to evacuate ahead of attacks while taking steps to comply with international law.
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