WHY THE ED SHEERAN FIASCO HAS STRUCK A HUGE NERVE

 

This is a reminder that collectively we can shift the needle and it feels so good. Big thanks to Macklemore. The ceiling can’t hold us. Free Palestine. By Rania Khalek

WHY DID the Ed Sheeran fiasco hit a such a major nerve? Let us count the ways.

We’ve all been in a state of depression and hopelessness about the genocide in Palestine and the expanding circle of barbarism the U.S. and Israel are inflicting on the entire region and the world. And we’ve had enough.

No one can change it alone. Macklemore has been putting in the work for years, showing up, speaking out in spite of losing opportunities professionally. But he can’t do it alone, no one can.

This is a reminder that collectively we have the power to shift the needle and it feels good. The blowback against Ed Sheeran and Robert Kraft and Pink proves that. Ed Sheeran is getting dragged for his cowardice, musicians are dropping out of his tour in solidarity, and lots of fans want a refund. His tour reportedly might shut down.

Our ability to come together to exact a price for complicity in genocide inspires more action. It inspires more Macklemores.

Ed Sheeran is a hundred millionaire and he would have been fine. He could have refused to fire Macklemore and been a hero. He would have lost nothing aside from some shows that would have probably been scheduled at other venues. Instead, he chose to be a spoiled, selfish coward. He says he’s neutral and apolitical even though he stood with Ukraine just a few years back and even had photos meeting with a former Israeli hostage. Maybe the comms team who wrote his lame response to Macklemore assumed we’re too dumb to use the internet? History will mock his embarrassing behaviour and the way it blew up in his face.

Celebrities with souls will feel more confident in speaking out for Palestine. Others will hesitate to associate themselves with genocidal Israel to avoid the Ed Sheeran treatment. It’s a South African apartheid moment, when the cultural boycott became a picket line you could not cross without facing the wrath of the masses.

And finally this episode exposes everything wrong with our decrepit system. People are repulsed by the way billionaires, and their bought-and-paid-for tools in government, punish and suppress speech. It’s all out in the open, the billionaire control of culture, art, speech, our politicians. We are all disgusted and fed up, and it’s causing a cultural rupture that can’t be undone.

Meanwhile, Palestinians are still being mass murdered. This drama puts that front and centre again, reminding us of the power of collective action.

We should all show our upmost gratitude to Macklemore for everything he’s done. Demanding a free Palestine while opening for Ed Sheeran was just the latest example of him using his privilege and platform to make the world better. If you’ve been involved in Palestine activism since the genocide began, you’ve likely run into him at protests or related events and noticed how kind and humble he is. He genuinely cares and wants to make a difference. That’s why he helped us produce The Encampments documentary at Breakthrough News, one of the many ways he’s helped out behind the scenes. Macklemore represents the best of humanity.

Let’s keep up the momentum. After all, the ceiling can’t hold us.

Rania Khalek is a journalist at Breakthrough News. She writes at Rania Khalek.