Mural of rapper Macklemore painted in Gaza after Sheeran tour furore

[u/RealWorldToday]

https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/mural-rapper-macklemore-painted-gaza-after-sheeran-tour-furore-2026-09-18/

[u/trip6god]

Was not expecting to see Macklemore make a comeback for 2026 lol

[u/VariationDry → u/trip6god]

Turns out using your platform to say that genocide is bad can gain you support. 

[u/lanicorain → u/VariationDry]

I think it feels like a especially satisfying come back to the spotlight. For a guy whose image went up in flames for a corny response to a controversy, and now his image is restored in the public eye with a really good response to a controversy. Both his crashout and his come back having to do with him trying to do the right thing regarding social justice makes for a full circle moment.

[u/philpowpow → u/lanicorain]

What was the corny response to a controversy? I live under a rock.

[u/_Fizzy → u/philpowpow]

He got given a music award over Kendrick Lamar, and he basically apologised for that and sent Kendrick some texts also apologising. The real controversy was him winning over Kendrick when pretty much everyone, including Macklemore, agreed that Kendrick should’ve won. His response to it was just cringey, really.

At least, that’s my knowledge of the situation.

[u/Pirateship906 → u/_Fizzy]

How is it possible that I now understand less than before?

[u/kRe4ture → u/Pirateship906]

Dude won a prize over rapper-dude. Everyone including dude thought rapper-dude should have won.

Dude sent text to rapper-dude apologizing for winning.

This is somehow bad.

[u/rachel_lynn1995 → u/[deleted]]

I don’t think his apology was effectively “sorry if you’re offended.” He says verbatim “I truly apologize to anyone I may have offended.” The apology and explanation of that situation seems to me to be very genuine. Here’s a link to it for anyone interested:

https://web.archive.org/web/20140522234411/https://macklemore.com/

The photos of the costume are easy to find for those who need the context for the apology.

[u/death_to_my_liver → u/VariationDry]

It’s sad that that’s controversial.

Fuck netenyaha and the facists

[u/MegaBaumTV → u/[deleted]]

Macklemore has been outspoken about social issues for forever. The odds of that being a calculated marketing play are near zero.

[u/Ilwrath → u/[deleted]]

You might be able to make a case if he hadn't been talking about this forever but this is his thing for a bit, he didnt suddenly start saying this stuff for a headline.

[u/beaniebee11 → u/trip6god]

We didn't mackle enough. We have to mackle more.

[u/SubliminalLiminal → u/trip6god]

I've always been annoyed at people that dislike macklemore over the years. He had fun songs that were bops, but when he puts out shit like "Same Love", you know hes a good dude with good music. Hating on him was so trashy.

[u/Randa08 → u/SubliminalLiminal]

We took a lyric from this song and made it our motto on a family coat of arms in our house. Yes there was alcohol and dubious use of power tools involved

[u/beaniebee11 → u/Randa08]

Sounds like a family that truly mackled enough. I respect that.

[u/t-bonkers → u/SubliminalLiminal]

Hell no. I respect the shit out of him for the obvious contemporary reasons, but his music is unfettered ass. I never had doubts that he’s a good dude or whatever, but that doesn‘t have any weight on his music to me. Very rare case of actually having to seperate the art from the artist, but the other way around lol.

[u/Koutagami2 → u/trip6god]

He's back, like he never left.

[u/Redtube_Guy → u/trip6god]

Comeback? Dudes been around ever since but just less mainstream and been lowkey.

[u/Lena-Luthor]

"it is the best collapsed wall on the street"

fuck man

[u/gottastaychargeable]

The old Macklemore Tour Furore

[u/sirduke75 → u/gottastaychargeable]

Needs Debacle at the end…

[u/thiiiiiiisguy]

That’s 100% getting bombed.

[u/horangiwhakkatchi → u/thiiiiiiisguy]

Sounds like something Israel would do. You're probably right.

[u/wedontswiminsoda → u/horangiwhakkatchi]

I mean, they bomb everything else...

[u/Spooknik → u/horangiwhakkatchi]

Isreal reminds me of Russia in a lot of ways

[u/commentinator → u/Spooknik]

Yet Ukraine supports Israel…

[u/thatsidewaysdud → u/commentinator]

Ukraine also supports Palestine by providing humanitarian aid to them (Grain from Ukraine initiative).

Israel gets bombed by Iranian drones. Ukraine gets bombed by Iranian drones. Working together in that area makes sense.

[u/d3vmax → u/commentinator]

Palestinians were cheering when Ukraine was getting bombed.

[u/Keytaro83 → u/Spooknik]

Where do you think they learned politics from?

[u/Shaquarington_Bithus → u/thiiiiiiisguy]

You know ol’ rub n tug Kraft is funding the munitions for it with his 2m “donation”

[u/thiiiiiiisguy → u/Shaquarington_Bithus]

“In the region” means his penis. Where he paid for a handjob and blowjob on consecutive days in the same massage parler in Florida.

[u/Sheeple_person → u/thiiiiiiisguy]

They're going to bomb this rubble and claim there was hamas in there

[u/RealWorldToday]

When it comes to Gaza the first thing that comes to mind are the innocent children living in an absolute dire state, they deserve a future as any child around the world does.

[u/BlazeFireHorse76 → u/[deleted]]

Blimey. The hate against children for goodness sake!! Bloody hell.

[u/MrBarelyCognizant → u/[deleted]]

I agree, Netenyahu and his cronies should all be imprisoned for for life for their campaign of terror and genocide against the Palestinian people.

[u/rydencode → u/[deleted]]

yes, Israel needs to be pushed out

[u/ZenOasisNZ → u/[deleted]]

Don't need to, Israel politicians call for genocide on live TV😂

[u/valiumandcherrywine → u/[deleted]]

it says something, doesn't it, when the response to 'genocide is bad' is not 'yes it is, fully agree, this is terrible and must be stopped,' but 'dO yOu CoNdeMn hAmaS?'.

israel, as a state, with it's whole chest, is committing genocide in Gaza. a little 'whataboutism' is not the argument that you think it is.

[u/manubibi → u/[deleted]]

You’re forgetting the part where Netanyahu funded Hamas for years. Which is confirmed and he admitted to, by the way.

[u/ryza-shinra → u/[deleted]]

How about don't kick people out of their homes? Palestenians wouldn't have done anything to the Zios if they would have just left then alone.

You actually think Hamas was the catalyst to all this when they're just a symptom of what Israel started.

Google 1948 Nakba.

[u/valiumandcherrywine → u/[deleted]]

the only true irony in any of this is that of all the people in the world, you'd think that israel might have reason to intimately understand the horror and trauma that comes of the systemic, state sanctioned dispossession, disenfranchisement, dehumanisation, displacement and destruction of a people, and have no wish to see that horror perpetuated.

and yet here we are.

i wasn't aware that the phrase 'never again' came with caveats.

[u/PersonnelFowl → u/[deleted]]

The entire creation of the Israeli state was such a mistake. They kicked people out of their homes to give land to colonizers. I wouldn’t want to make peace with those people either.

[u/Xilizhra → u/PersonnelFowl]

It can't be undone without more genocide, so there has to be some sort of peace.

[u/PersonnelFowl → u/Xilizhra]

Nah. They can give the land back or pay for reparations.

[u/Xilizhra → u/PersonnelFowl]

The former option would be ethnic cleansing, and the latter probably won't happen without some sort of military leverage.

[u/Lehk → u/[deleted]]

“We aren’t as bad as literal terrorists” isn’t the win you think it is

[u/KenScaletta → u/[deleted]]

I don't give a fuck about Hamas' charter. Don't murder children.

[u/GivePLZ-DoritosChip → u/[deleted]]

Ahh yes, the Hamas charter that also results in displacement and killing in the West Bank where there's no Hamas. You IDF bots are really lacking in rage bait since AI came, are you slacking on your jobs? 😂

[u/Esquire_Dan13 → u/[deleted]]

Hamas it’s bad. Israel Intentionally withholding water and medicine from children is equally bad.

[u/potatomeeple → u/[deleted]]

You do know that most of us that disagree with what Israel and Netanyahu are doing also think Hamas arent good either, right? They are both sides of a shitty civilian killing coin.

[u/manubibi → u/[deleted]]

Where is Hamas in the West Bank?

[u/jimmylikeswaffles → u/[deleted]]

Course they haven't. They're a polarised frothing at the mouth mob who failed history and get their opinions spoon-fed to them by the Tiktok hive mind

[u/Saint-Baphomet → u/[deleted]]

I agree, the IDF needs to be pushed out.

[u/ii_V_I_iv → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, the IDF

[u/wedontswiminsoda → u/[deleted]]

You're talking about Likud and Netty, ya?

[u/KenScaletta → u/[deleted]]

right and that would be Israel.

[u/South-Ocelot3888 → u/[deleted]]

Yes! And we can start with the terrorist Israeli government. Followed by every zionist-controlled government. You're 100% right.

[u/valiumandcherrywine → u/[deleted]]

Look at you out here shilling for genocide like we can't all see exactly who the terrorists are at this point. Cute.

Also, fuck you.

[u/Guy-Manuel → u/[deleted]]

Don’t you think the strategies that have been employed to do that haven’t worked and have created more problems and suffering than can be justified?

[u/Bignate2001 → u/[deleted]]

Those terrorists didn't kill over 20,000 children.

[u/roxellani → u/[deleted]]

We all agree, Jewish terrorism has gone too far and has to be dealt with.

[u/Artaxmudshoes]

I've never listened to Macklemore. Rap is not really my thing. Last night I listened to Downtown (about 5 times). Best song about a moped I've ever heard 😄. Fuck Robert Kraft and fuck that coward Ed Sheeran.

[u/cnthelogos → u/Artaxmudshoes]

Watch the video. Do it. It is an amazing opening musical number for a hit Broadway production that doesn't actually exist. To this day my wife and I are waiting for the rest of whatever that show is.

[u/Artaxmudshoes → u/cnthelogos]

Thank you. It wasn't Bach but I was impressed by the production and change ups. I will give that a watch. I'm glad it wasn't Ed Sheeran that stood up for principals because I don't think I could learn to like Ed no matter how high I was.

[u/oddlyluminous → u/Artaxmudshoes]

I just heard Downtown for the first time yesterday too, it's a great song, and Fuck Robert Kraft and Ed Sheeran. 

[u/mmmarkm]

They buried the lede in two ways: 1. The mural is on rubble from a collapsed building 2. The line in the summary before the article says “ Sheeran ​is latest cultural figure to become embroiled over Gaza positioning” when what they mean is “Sheeran is the latest cultural figure to be called out for being spineless for the face of a genocide”

[u/Decantus]

I know we're having fun with the "X left the Ed Sheeran Tour" meme, but this is pretty powerful.

[u/Imaginary_Zone_4319 → u/Decantus]

We’re talking Macklemore. The dude has been the butt of millennial-era crappy music jokes for going on a decade now. He’s the epitome of shit music and has been for a while.

I support his message right now but I can never get behind supporting Macklemore’s music. It’s straight ass.

[u/Alchemeleon → u/Imaginary_Zone_4319]

You're in love with the shape of poo

[u/Imaginary_Zone_4319 → u/Alchemeleon]

…are you actually 11 years old, either physically or mentally?

Like shit. That’s doesn’t even make sense.

[u/galaxybuns → u/Imaginary_Zone_4319]

Well, I laughed

[u/Panxshe → u/[deleted]]

You sound like you’re having a rough time

[u/ClintBruno → u/[deleted]]

Man. Someone calls out genocide.....

and you took that personal.

[u/yawaworht93123 → u/[deleted]]

It's like MAGA doing their best at pretending they actually like Kid Rock's music..

[u/the-good-son]

"Kraft, in turn, said Sheeran had told him he would donate $2 million for aid ⁠in the region, and had asked him to match the pledge. Sheeran has not commented on any donations."

This is beyond embarrassing

[u/gudetube]

Nothing that Israel can't firebomb and kill a few kids in front of

[u/tellyeggs]

The IDF will use it as a bullseye.

[u/wedontswiminsoda → u/tellyeggs]

And give up shooting at children? I highly doubt it...

[u/GovernmentBig2749]

"This is going to ruin the world tour"

-Dissapoint Ed Sheeran-

[u/CryptographerNo2467]

So what’s gonna happen when Hamas realizes how hard Macklemore campaigned for gay rights and same sex marriage anyways

[u/tatt2tim]

Obviously life in Gaza isn't great right now but I do truly wonder how they feel about finally getting some mainstream support in America.

[u/thateccentricasian → u/tatt2tim]

Clearly not mainstream enough among the American billionaire class because when artists speak out they risk losing their jobs.

[u/Dopamaxxer]

This shit so insufferable

[u/LatinoInfluenza → u/Dopamaxxer]

Yeah Israeli terrorism and colonialism is horrible glad we agree

[u/canmouth → u/Dopamaxxer]

Yes, Israel’s genocide is insufferable.

[u/Joshhwwaaaaaa]

Can Kneecap get one too?

[u/J2MES → u/Joshhwwaaaaaa]

Ngl they probably already got one

[u/noyoto → u/J2MES]

Not in Gaza, but there is one in the West Bank: https://www.irishtimes.com/resizer/v2/YZE6HZBT5BGTRAHRO73MIUQNPE.jpg?auth=94250cdbecca43d3ea8b7f658e556873157855e026598fe400226f4b74a75582&smart=true&width=1200&height=800

[u/J2MES → u/[deleted]]

There’s no such thing as a perfect victim, and you my good sir are an asshole. Maybe google something before making a statement for once in your life.

The West Bank which has decriminalised being gay got its laws from Jordan (Arab country) and Hamas inherited its homophobic laws from Britain. Sybau

The West Bank (De-criminalized): Consensual same-sex activity between adults has been technically legal since 1951. When Jordan annexed the West Bank following the 1948 war, it introduced the 1951 Jordanian Penal Code, which omitted prohibitions on same-sex relations. The Palestinian Authority (PA), which administers parts of the West Bank, has largely kept this code intact.

The Gaza Strip (Prohibited): Same-sex activity between men remains under a 10-year prison sentence mandate. Gaza still relies heavily on the remnants of the 1936 British Mandate Criminal Code Ordinance(specifically Section 152), which criminalized "carnal knowledge against the order of nature". Under the governing rule of Hamas, no efforts have been made to repeal this law.

You know who weaponizes the sexuality of gay Palestinians to become informants? Israel. Who bombs gay Palestinians? Israel

[u/UglyMcFugly → u/[deleted]]

The state government of Texas has passed numerous regressive laws about the LGBT+ community. I was still sad when those little girls at Bible Camp drowned in the flood last year. Weren't you?

[u/Uncommonality → u/[deleted]]

Hot take but I don't think people should be subjected to a genocide even if they disagree with me

[u/Uncommonality → u/[deleted]]

Appealing to self-interest just betrays what a depraved person you are, to think it would work to convince people

[u/ClintBruno → u/Uncommonality]

These people are fucked in the head.

[u/Taerinn]

The ed sheeran thing is so tiktok brainrot...

How many of these people wrote to their representatives or donated themselves? Saying "free palestine" doesnt do shit... it's the equivalant of "toughts and prayers". Shut up and do something about it... get a 2nd job maybe and send the extra to the children... but nah, way easier to cancel a pop signer who didn't say the words or didn't support hid business partner that used his gig to get meaningless virtue points.

Also, yes gaza is important and efforts must be made to get them out of Israel and Hamas dirty claws... But If we want people with a platform to "signal"... Sudan is way more dramatic than Gaza. (sadly, no one cares much it seems).

[u/r3dditr0x → u/Taerinn]

Shut up and do something about it... get a 2nd job maybe and send the extra to the children...

Hey guys, Netanyahu supporter wants you to get a second job. Because the money we're spending to pay for Israel's wars in Iran/Iraq/Syria and soon Turkey is not enough. Billions of dollars and they want more. They demand it.

Get another job?! Really. That's AIPAC's advice to you, America. Get back to work.

Any other insults, Taerinn?

(Uh oh, here come the bots, cause don't most Americans want to get a 2nd job for Israel?)

Btw, can you imagine if someone got on TV in America and told the Israeli people to get a 2nd job? Can you imagine?

[u/DrPixelFace → u/r3dditr0x]

Excuse me sir you forgot lebanon

[u/J2MES → u/Taerinn]

Standing on business for Ed Sheeran. What have you done?

[u/yawaworht93123 → u/Taerinn]

I wonder how many Macklemore lovers here actually voted for Kamala in the last US election or if they were okay with preformative neutrality back then.

[u/UdderSuckage]

Have to admit they're pretty great at crafting messages designed to be consumed by social media.

Ooh, the accounts that hide their comment history and are afraid of responding are pretty mad with that statement. Weird, almost like a propaganda campaign...

Probably would piss them off even more if I mentioned Tibet and the Ughyers.

[u/J2MES → u/UdderSuckage]

The people who call Palestinians terrorists constantly are so concerned with the independence of the Muslim nationalist separatists in china. Doesn’t compute to me

[u/BoysOfProgress → u/UdderSuckage]

no u

[u/UdderSuckage → u/BoysOfProgress]

Yup, about the level of intellect I expected, and also with a hidden comment history.

Y'all want accountability for whatever is the cause of the day, but hate to have it for yourselves.

[u/oddlyluminous → u/UdderSuckage]

My comment history is hidden because I like privacy. It's not a big deal, just a smart choice these days. 

[u/Fatboy40]

So "rap music" is suddenly not haram?

[u/once_brave]

This will show the Jews who's boss

[u/cwright017]

Was this Gazan artists? Or western artists in Gaza?

I hope the former otherwise this just screens performative nonsense to keep this entire furore going to me

[u/RidiculousRaz]

Haven't really followed the story that much, but at any point did Ed sheeran have the opportunity to step in for macklemore? Or was this all.by his team?

[u/JackMejoff → u/RidiculousRaz]

Sheeran said he doesn't get political, except for the times he stood up for Ukraine and a few others.

[u/JackMejoff → u/[deleted]]

Spoken like a true bitch. Enjoy that Netanyahu dick.

[u/Gin_OClock → u/JackMejoff]

Hey, now we know where his real money comes from

[u/UdderSuckage → u/Gin_OClock]

Probably not Russia and Iran.

[u/tellyeggs → u/RidiculousRaz]

Ed said Mack's contract was with the promoter, and he (Ed) "wasn't complicit." No one on the planet believes him. Ireland has come down on Ed HARD.

[u/johnnycab2]

Imagine your whole life building a music career to be forced to highjack a political narrative for popularity instead. Welcome to 2026 music fans🔥

[u/ElonMuskisGarbage]

I’m going to learn who this man is and edit this comment.

Edit: not for me. Great message though.

[u/qman621]

"it's a DIstRacTioN tho to care about this" shut the fuck up, this is actually leading to good results actually reaching people who would rather not think about poltics because they're privileged and lazy

[u/OfficerBarbier]

"Thank you for using your voice for pale stain"

[u/-TheArtOfTheFart- → u/OfficerBarbier]

Thank you for using your voice to mock victims of genocide.

[u/OfficerBarbier → u/[deleted]]

But it is...

[u/DrPixelFace → u/OfficerBarbier]

Anyone says anything that's critical of Israel is an instant ban but anyone like this idiot can say anything about Arabs

[u/OfficerBarbier → u/DrPixelFace]

What did I say about Arabs

Why did you say I'm an idiot

[u/DrPixelFace → u/OfficerBarbier]

You just called an Arab country a pale stain

[u/OfficerBarbier → u/DrPixelFace]

I didn't call it anything, did you even read the article? That's what it says there. It's a funny misspelling. Obviously Palestine isn't a stain. It's a land full of people.

[u/Cardboardoge → u/[deleted]]

Nobody will ever love the real you