Children’s YouTube star Ms Rachel has publicly condemned Ed Sheeran after the singer removed Macklemore from his tour over pro-Palestine remarks.
Rachel Anne Accurso, 43, known to millions of young viewers as Ms Rachel, posted a pointed message to her Instagram account this week as fallout from the decision continued to spread across the music industry. The educator, who has built a massive platform advocating for children in conflict zones, directed her criticism at Sheeran for yielding to venue pressure rather than standing by his longtime collaborator.
Sharing a text image to the platform, Accurso wrote: “Ed Sheeran had an opportunity show that we won’t be bullied into punishing people for supporting Palestine. 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.”
In the post’s accompanying caption, Accurso drew a sharp comparison to hypothetical outrage over white children killed abroad. “If more than 20,000 white children were killed in another part of the world, everyone would be shouting about it at their concerts,” she stated. “Treating some children’s lives as less worthy of outrage is racist. Silence during a genocide is not neutral.”
The controversy began when Macklemore, 41, took the stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey as an opener for Sheeran’s Loop tour. During his performance, the rapper delivered a passionate speech calling for a “Free Palestine” and performed his protest track “Hind’s Hall” against a backdrop of images depicting devastation in Gaza.
Following pushback from pro-Israel groups and reported pressure from stadium venue owners, tour promoter Messina Touring Group confirmed Macklemore had been removed from the remaining support dates. The stated rationale was preventing venues from cancelling the shows entirely.
Macklemore addressed his removal in a lengthy multi-page statement on Instagram, revealing he had spent a week in “difficult conversations” with Sheeran, a close friend of 13 years. He wrote that venue owners had issued an ultimatum threatening to shut down entire tour stops if he remained on the bill.
The rapper specifically named New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft, claiming the billionaire had led efforts among venue owners to block him from performing. Kraft subsequently defended the decision, citing concerns over antisemitic rhetoric and divisiveness.
“Ed was in a ****** up position. He knew it,” Macklemore wrote on Instagram. “His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with.
“I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn’t get past his public facing: I don’t take sides.”
The Seattle rapper, who has seen professional consequences for his activism, added a broader observation about the cost of political stances in the entertainment industry. “And I get why people don’t. Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I’ve lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed.
“When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn’t leave you in the middle.”
The removal has triggered a wave of departures from Sheeran’s tour. Oscar and Grammy winner Finneas, singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, and Irish band Beoga have all announced they are withdrawing in solidarity with Macklemore. The exodus represents a significant rupture in the tour’s supporting lineup as Sheeran continues his stadium run.
Sheeran has not issued a direct public statement regarding Macklemore’s removal or the subsequent artist departures. The British singer has previously explained that he does not use his professional platform for politics, a stance Macklemore indicated was central to their discussions about the controversy.
