Macklemore Cancelled? The Truth is … Complicated

The modern Left doesn’t care about free speech … unless they’re the ones speaking.

The examples are endless. Here are just a few:

• The Left raged against Macklemore after he got booted from Ed Sheeran’s tour, but they stayed quiet after British singer M.I.A. lost her opening act gig under similar circumstances.
• The Left looked the other way as comedians got censored left and right, but they raged against ABC for suspending Jimmy Kimmel for spreading misinformation.
• The Left raged against Morgan Wallen for using the “n-word” in a private moment caught on video. They said nothing after we learned that Hunter Biden repeatedly texted the same word to a friend.

New text messages from Hunter Biden reveal he repeatedly used the N-word when referring to his lawyer in conversation, who was white.

Joe Biden raised a son who casually talks that way, yet he wants to lecture all of us on “racism?”

I don’t think so.

— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) June 8, 2021

Now, the Legacy Media and the Left, but we repeat ourselves, are covering Macklemore’s claim that select arenas wouldn’t allow him to bring his pro-Palestinian fundraising tour to their venues.

He shared this note on the matter via Instagram:

“The doors were closed. The conversations were all different, but the result was the same … The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues. In over twenty years of touring, I’ve never experienced anything like this. But this is not an isolated incident. For decades, activists, poets, writers, musicians and entertainers who have stood in solidarity with the Palestinian people have faced consequences for doing so. Many have paid a far greater price than I have.”

The price he’s paying, so far, is fawning news coverage and, likely, a pressure campaign to force venues to reverse their decision.

MSG refuted the musician’s argument, saying he’s not an arena-level act at this stage of his career. He did fill up arena stages at three concerts outside the U.S. in recent weeks, but his greatest fame stateside came more than a decade ago following the “Thrift Shop” smash.

It’s noteworthy that Macklemore didn’t say a word, publicly at least, about the Nova Music Festival slaughter conducted by Palestinian terrorists. Nor has he stood up for the countless artists silenced during the Peak Woke Era.

He’s said nothing as entertainers like Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Rapaport have faced protestors and cancellation for simply being Jewish

Now, he’s playing the victim. But is he?

It’s complicated. He’s not just a politically-charged singer at this point. He’s using his concerts to raise money for the Palestinian cause. Said cause is murky on many levels. The New York Post reported that some of that cash is going to a group that defended the Oct. 7 atrocities.

Jeanine Hourani, a UK spokesperson for the Palestine Youth Movement, previously defended the taking of hostages during the Oct. 7 atrocities, while the group itself has characterized the massacres as a “prison break.”

What about other Palestinian groups benefiting from Macklemore’s tour? See the problem?

We should always err on the side of free speech when reasonable. And as much as many rightfully loathe the singer’s ill-informed Middle East views, it’s better to let him preach than make him a free speech martyr.

More voices, not less.

And speaking of voices, will one journalist ask the singer some tough but fair questions about his “Free Palestine” crusade?

The answer, of course, is a tragic “no.”