Ms. Rachel Slams Ed Sheeran for Dropping Macklemore From Tour Over ‘Free Palestine’ Comments: ‘He Caved’

Ms. Rachel, the famed children’s YouTuber, called out Ed Sheeran for choosing to drop Macklemore from his tour over his “Free Palestine” comments onstage earlier this month. In the wake of Sheeran’s decision going public Monday, Ms. Rachel, also known as Rachel Anne Accurso, took to Instagram and accused the “Thinking Out Loud” singer of caving to external pressure. “Ed Sheeran had an opportunity [to] show that we won’t be bullied into punishing people for supporting Palestine,” she wrote. “Instead he caved to people who refuse to accept what the world knows. A genocide is happening in Gaza. We all need to speak out against it.” She added: “If more than 20,000 white children were killed in another part of the world, everyone would be shouting about it at their concerts. Treating some children’s lives as less worthy of outrage is racist. Silence during a genocide is not neutral.” This is not the first time Ms. Rachel has spoken out and advocated for the children of war-torn Gaza, previously defending that her advocacy is humanitarian in nature and not political. However, in January, Ms. Rachel issued multiple apologies after liking an antisemitic comment on one of her Instagram posts. Her commentary came after Macklemore was officially removed from Sheeran’s Loop Tour following his “Free Palestine” messaging onstage. The rapper responded to the decision by blaming billionaire Robert Kraft for his exit. “Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from the Loop Tour. Before I get into it, I want to say something that should be obvious. In this moment I think it matters. I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families,” he shared on Instagram. “The victims are the Palestinian people-the men, women, and children who have been killed, starved, displaced, and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don’t lose sight of that.” “Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium,” he added elsewhere in his post. “Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners, and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.” Kraft defended his stance with his own statement Monday, noting, “Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the Sept. 25 and 26 concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.” “I agree with Macklemore. Too many lives have been lost and there has been too much suffering, but only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas is not honest and only advances more divisiveness and hate,” the New England Patriots owner added. “I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same – peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate.” A representative for Sheeran did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.