Macklemore vs. Sheeran: On Antisemitism

The Macklemore vs. Ed Sheeran fallout over Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium inspired this essay.

As you know, on September 4, 2026, rapper “Macklemore” was Ed Sheeran’s Opener in New Jersey as part of Ed Sheeran’s “Loop Tour”–Ed’s sixth tour if you really want to know. 😉

FULL DISCLOSURE: Heph actually got us tickets to Ed Sheeran at Gillette on 9/26… Luckily, Ed canceled the concert because of the Nor’easter! So, Heph is getting his $500 back. 🎉 But before the cancellation, we had decided not to go…

…Capital silencing the speaking out against genocide? Ed going along with it? Ed not taking a stance on the Nazis of today (i.e., Zionist Israel)? No, no, and no.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Hehe

Oh, and one other side note: in case you’re curious, like me, who “Macklemore” is, I had to look him up. Macklemore is the stage name for Benjamin Hammon Haggerty. And he’s from Seattle.

In any event, Ed Sheeran kicked off his Loop Tour in January 2026 in New Zealand. He traveled through Australia, hit Latin America in May, and began his North American run in June. Before he hit New Jersey, Sheeran had already played in Chicago, Seattle, Los Angeles, Toronto.

(Yes, I had to look all this up. LOL)

Then at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, Macklemore joined the lineup as an opener. Before performing his song “Hind’s Hall,” Macklemore, wearing a keffiyeh, spoke about the genocide in Gaza. He performed twice in New Jersey–Friday and Saturday (Sept. 4 & 5).

His speech made a HUGE impact.

Robert Kraft, who is a proudly Jewish of the Zionist kind, did not like what Macklemore had to say. (I included Macklemore’s speech below where he said “Free Palestine” had nothing to do with criticizing Jewish people and everything to do with the Zionist genocide of Palestinians.)

Anyway, Robert Kraft owns Gillette Stadium (where the New England Patriots play). He got seven other NFL stadium owners to say they would cancel Ed Sheeran’s tour dates if Macklemore remained on the lineup. He called Macklemore’s word “antisemitic.”

Ed had a choice. He chose to appease Kraft. He removed Macklemore. Ed’s remaining opening acts (including Finneas, Aaron Rowe, and Lukas Graham) quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore as they rightly saw this as suppressing speech, ultimately by using big money.

So, I got out my own “Free Palestine” tank top and snapped a few pics and created a Carousel-essay for Instagram about the absurdity of weaponizing the serious term “antisemitism” to silence criticism over the genocide in Gaza.

Here’s my basic thesis: Those who call the words on my tank top “antisemitic” hide behind a Race Card Red Herring (i.e., Red Herring is a fallacy used to distract).

(SIDE NOTE: I haven’t heard the weaponization of antisemitism spoken of in these specific terms—i.e., the gross irony of using “race” to distract from a racist genocide—so I wanted to make the case for it here.)

As I say in my little video below, the funny part is, “Semitic” doesn’t even mean Jewish! Semitic is just a family of languages that originated in North Africa and in the Mideast…

Semitic: A family of languages traditionally divided into three main branches—East, Northwest, and South Semitic. Hebrew is one language (Northwest), but so is Arabic (Central). And so is Aramaic (Northwest) and Sabean (South). 🤦🏾‍♀️ Seen in the map below 👇🏽

The other funny part is, the word “Semite” is derived from the name “Shem,” one of Noah’s three sons. Who are linked to the flood story. The flood story that was probably taken from the Epic of Gilgamesh…

Anyway! Here’s the guy who invented the term “Semite”—August Ludwig von Schlozer in the year 1781! (So, the term is fairly recent…)

What’s even FUNNIER—not all Jewish people speak a Semitic language. But non-Jewish people like Arabs DO speak a Semitic language. That means Arabs, such as the Palestinians, are often the TRUE Semites here! 😂

Just like in this comic. (I love this comic by the way 🤣)

So maybe the TRUE antisemitism in this particular situation is against the Palestinians? Because the prejudice I see against Muslims (who DO speak a Semitic language) is disturbing.

Silencing criticism of a racist genocide by calling it “antisemitic” is asinine, hypocritical, dishonest, plays victim. It’s a weapon used to distract from how Zionist Israel has become today’s Nazis. One positive from the Macklemore fallout: shows how dead this red herring is?🤞🏽

P.S. Music Credit: “Semitic Fugue” by John Kameel Farah

P.P.S. I included Macklemore’s speech in full, and his full statement in full as reference. Don’t think you to listen to it or read it. It’s just to refer to if you’d like. ❤️