A SCOTTISH rock band has reacted with fury after Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour after making pro-Palestine statements.
The US rapper opened for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last week when he told the audience he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know they had "not been forgotten" amid Israel's genocide.
Macklemore was due to appear at eight of the 10 shows left on the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s tour, but it has emerged that he was dropped after several venues allegedly told the tour's promoter that they would not allow him to perform.
In a statement on Monday evening, Macklemore urged fans to remember that he is "not a victim".
"The victims are the Palestinian people," he wrote.
"The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable silence."
Scottish rock band Garbage, who have consistently expressed support for Palestine, has now branded the decision "sheer madness" and "wildly unjust".
A post on Instagram read: "So @macklemore is being dropped from a major tour because some people felt threatened and 'scared' when he stood on stage and pleaded for the protections of an occupied and persecuted people?
"Can I remind everyone that nothing Macklemore actually said was violent or hateful or remotely radical.
"May I remind everyone that Israeli scholars and world renowned experts on genocide themselves are in agreement that what is being done to the Palestinians is cruel and unlawful.
"The International Court of Justice, governmental bodies across the globe and respected international humanitarian organisations all agree with this assessment too."
The band pointed towards the testimonies of doctors who have served on the ground in Gaza, along with soldiers from the Israeli Defence Force (IDF).
They added: "So why then are those who continue to support military action against the Palestinians and who refuse to look at the evidence of such astounding horror still being cast as righteous?
"Why are certain republicans who are throwing actual Nazi salutes on camera still going unpunished yet a musician of principle talking of peace and justice is being gagged and punished.
"Those who exile, silence and censor others are never the good guys. No matter what you tell yourself.
"Just because you ignore the truth doesn’t make the truth go away or make it any less potent."
Garbage said that Macklemore's words "were not antisemitic", saying the rapper "is being punished for simply pleading for the occupation, the oppression and the violence to stop".
The band added: "Any one of us can be cast as a criminal for hating to see toddlers get all their limbs blown off, pregnant mothers get shot in the head, beautiful husbands getting shot in the back, grandfathers forced to surrender their homes to white folks from Brooklyn, USA, or having to watch wee children standing in lines for hours to have their plates filled with food………
"It is all so utterly obscene."
