Macklemore, Midterms, & Transphobic Democrats
Sep 18, 2026 · 2 hr 2 min · 11 segments
Macklemore, Midterms, & Transphobic Democrats by Mike Figueredo
- Speakers
Mike FigueredoHost
Sep 18, 2026 · 2 hr 2 min · 11 segments
Macklemore, Midterms, & Transphobic Democrats by Mike Figueredo
Mike FigueredoHostOne of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: free Palestine.
[cheering]
I said free Palestine.
[cheering]
I want those words to be loud and clear so the people from Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them.
You just heard from rapper Macklemore, who is the opening act for singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.
Or was, I should say, because the comments that you just saw him make actually led to him being kicked off of Ed Sheeran's tour.
After the entire country collectively had a conniption fit over cancel culture, a musician was just booted from a tour for daring to utter the words "free Palestine." Why? Because he wanted to show support for a group of people being ethnically cleansed and genocided by Israel with American tax dollars.
Meanwhile, Kanye West, who literally has a song called Heil Hitler, is still selling out shows.
Country music star Morgan Wallen sold out 23 stadiums in 12 different cities even though he said the N-word, quote-unquote, playfully.
Marilyn Manson is also selling out tours despite having been accused of sexual assault by multiple women.
Chris Brown, as a matter of fact, was just presented with a Congressional Record of Recognition at a show in Arlington, Texas by Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett even though he was convicted of felony assault against fellow musician Rihanna.
And Ed Sheeran was warned by venues that if he didn't shitcan Macklemore, then he'd also be persona non grata, so he decided to cave.
As Rolling Stone reports, Messina Touring Group, promoter of the US leg of Sheeran's loop tour, said, "As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran's US loop tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming US tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.
After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates." Macklemore was slated to appear at eight of the 10 shows left on the US leg of Sheeran's tour, which is set to resume this Friday, September 19th, in Philadelphia.
The venues that allegedly objected to the rapper include Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Which makes sense because we all know that the corporations that these stadiums are named after are the pinnacle of morality.
But really it was the stadiums who chose to draw the line in the sand here, and that really says so much about them, right? They're fine with racists and rapists and domestic abusers, and even self-proclaimed Nazis, but they refuse to tolerate any opposition whatsoever to the ongoing Palestinian genocide.
It is a decision that is so baffling, so morally bankrupt, that one would have to assume that Macklemore must have said something else that was inappropriate, right? Even if it was unintentional.
One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: free Palestine.
[cheering]
I said free Palestine.
[cheering]
I want those words to be loud and clear so the people from Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them.
You just heard from rapper Macklemore, who is the opening act for singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.
Or was, I should say, because the comments that you just saw him make actually led to him being kicked off of Ed Sheeran's tour.
After the entire country collectively had a conniption fit over cancel culture, a musician was just booted from a tour for daring to utter the words "free Palestine." Why? Because he wanted to show support for a group of people being ethnically cleansed and genocided by Israel with American tax dollars.
Meanwhile, Kanye West, who literally has a song called Heil Hitler, is still selling out shows.
Country music star Morgan Wallen sold out 23 stadiums in 12 different cities even though he said the N-word, quote-unquote, playfully.
Marilyn Manson is also selling out tours despite having been accused of sexual assault by multiple women.
Chris Brown, as a matter of fact, was just presented with a Congressional Record of Recognition at a show in Arlington, Texas by Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett even though he was convicted of felony assault against fellow musician Rihanna.
And Ed Sheeran was warned by venues that if he didn't shitcan Macklemore, then he'd also be persona non grata, so he decided to cave.
As Rolling Stone reports, Messina Touring Group, promoter of the US leg of Sheeran's loop tour, said, "As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran's US loop tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming US tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.
After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates." Macklemore was slated to appear at eight of the 10 shows left on the US leg of Sheeran's tour, which is set to resume this Friday, September 19th, in Philadelphia.
The venues that allegedly objected to the rapper include Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Which makes sense because we all know that the corporations that these stadiums are named after are the pinnacle of morality.
But really it was the stadiums who chose to draw the line in the sand here, and that really says so much about them, right? They're fine with racists and rapists and domestic abusers, and even self-proclaimed Nazis, but they refuse to tolerate any opposition whatsoever to the ongoing Palestinian genocide.
It is a decision that is so baffling, so morally bankrupt, that one would have to assume that Macklemore must have said something else that was inappropriate, right? Even if it was unintentional.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.