Mumbai: US rapper Macklemore was dropped from the remaining dates of Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour in the US after his “Free Palestine” remarks at a New Jersey concert earlier this month.
Macklemore also criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza and performed Hind’s Hall, the protest song he released in 2024. Tour promoter Messina Touring Group said venues had refused to host shows with him on the lineup.
Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Irish band Beoga then pulled out of their dates on the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
Macklemore is not the only artist to have spoken about Gaza. Since the Israel-Gaza war began on 7 October 2023, actors, musicians and comedians have joined protests, raised money and spoken out at concerts and awards shows. While some have called for an immediate ceasefire, several have spoken for the rights of the Palestenian people, and others have directly criticised Israel’s military campaign, labeling its actions as a genocide. A few have also lost work after speaking out.
Here are some of the performers who have publicly spoken about Gaza and Palestine since October 2023.
Macklemore
Macklemore has been consistently speaking about Palestine. In May 2024, he released Hind’s Hall, after protesters at Columbia University renamed a campus building they had occupied. The song also references Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza.
After the recent controversy, he posted a statement on Instagram Wednesday, saying he wanted the focus back on Palestinians rather than himself or what had happened on the tour.
In the post, Macklemore wrote about parents carrying injured children to hospitals that did not have the resources to treat them, and doctors, paramedics, journalists and aid workers who continued to work in Gaza. He also pledged the $1 million in net earnings he made from the tour to six organisations working with Palestinians: Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, UNRWA USA National Committee and Anera.
Macklemore asked New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to match the donation. “Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting,” he wrote.
Swara Bhasker — October 2023
Two days after the 7 October attack, Swara Bhasker posted about what she called selective outrage over the violence.
She listed the occupation of Palestinian homes, forced evictions, settler violence, the killing of Palestinian children and the blockade of Gaza.
Later that month, Bhasker posted a photograph with her newborn daughter and wondered how she would protect her if she had been born in Gaza. She wrote of Palestinian children “being killed every day under an imprisoned sky”.
Zeenat Aman — October 2023
On 20 October, Zeenat Aman said she could not “in good conscience remain silent.”
She called for an immediate ceasefire, humanitarian assistance for Palestinians and the release of hostages. Aman also said there could be “no justification” for violence against civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli.
Angelina Jolie — October-November 2023
Angelina Jolie first posted about the war in late October. She condemned Hamas’s attack and the taking of hostages, but said it could not justify civilian deaths in Gaza.
Days later, she criticised Israel’s bombing of Gaza. She described Gaza as becoming a “mass grave” and said civilians were being collectively punished.
Susan Sarandon — November 2023
Susan Sarandon attended several pro-Palestinian demonstrations in New York in November 2023. A comment she made at one of them about Jewish people experiencing fear in the US drew widespread criticism.
Four days later, talent agency UTA dropped her as a client.
Sarandon apologised for the way she had phrased the comment. She said it had wrongly suggested that Jewish people had previously been strangers to persecution. She continued to call for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Melissa Barrera — November 2023
Melissa Barrera was removed from Scream VII in November 2023 over social media posts about Gaza.
She had described what was happening as “genocide and ethnic cleansing” and compared conditions in Gaza with a concentration camp. She had also shared calls for a ceasefire.
Cynthia Nixon — November 2023
On 27 November, Sex and the City actor Cynthia Nixon joined a hunger strike outside the White House with activists and US state legislators.
They wanted then-US President Joe Biden to call for a permanent ceasefire. Nixon spoke about Palestinians being killed in Gaza and said civilian deaths should not simply be treated as an unavoidable cost of war. She also referred to the roughly 1,200 Israelis killed on 7 October.
Ramy Youssef — March 2024
At the Oscars in March 2024, Ramy Youssef wore the red Artists4Ceasefire pin.
On the red carpet, he said the group wanted an “immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza” and “lasting justice and peace for the Palestinian people”.
Kani Kusruti — May 2024
At the Cannes premiere of All We Imagine as Light, Kani Kusruti carried a clutch shaped like a slice of watermelon on the red carpet.
The watermelon has the red, green, black and white colours of the Palestinian flag and has long been used as a symbol of Palestinian identity and resistance.
“I have many Palestinian friends. So, for me, expressing solidarity was important,” Kusruti said.
Dua Lipa — May 2024
After an Israeli strike in Rafah in May 2024, Dua Lipa shared an Artists4Ceasefire post and described Israel’s military campaign as “Israeli genocide”. She urged her followers to “show your solidarity with Gaza”.
Lipa had already signed the Artists4Ceasefire letter. She had also previously condemned Hamas’s attack and called for a humanitarian ceasefire.
Naseeruddin Shah — August 2024
Naseeruddin Shah signed a petition asking the National Film Development Corporation to cancel an Israeli film festival in Mumbai in August 2024.
The statement described Israel’s actions in Gaza as war crimes and genocide, and said it was not the time to hold the festival. Filmmakers, writers and other artists signed it too.
It eventually received more than 1,000 signatures and the festival was cancelled.
Javier Bardem — September 2024
Javier Bardem spoke about Gaza while receiving the Donostia Award at the San Sebastián Film Festival in September 2024.
He condemned Hamas’s 7 October attack, but said the Israeli government’s response amounted to the “massive punishment” of Palestinians. Bardem called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and accountability for abuses.
Hannah Einbinder — September 2025
Hannah Einbinder ended her Emmy acceptance speech in September 2025 with “Free Palestine”.
The Hacks actor, who is Jewish, has also spoken against the Israeli government’s actions and signed industry initiatives over Gaza.
After Macklemore was removed from Sheeran’s tour this week, Einbinder criticised Sheeran’s response. She also pushed back against treating Jewish identity and support for the Israeli government as the same thing.
There have been collective efforts too.
Artists4Ceasefire
Artists4Ceasefire started on 20 October 2023 with an open letter to then-US President Joe Biden.
The first letter had 55 signatures. It asked Biden and other world leaders to push for a ceasefire, allow humanitarian aid into Gaza and secure the release of hostages.
The list now has more than 500 names, including Billie Eilish, Finneas, Ariana Grande, Drake, Jennifer Lopez, Cate Blanchett, Oscar Isaac, Ayo Edebiri, Anoushka Shankar, Andrew Garfield, Bradley Cooper and Cynthia Erivo.
The red Artists4Ceasefire pin also started appearing at awards shows. Billie Eilish, Mark Ruffalo and several others wore one at the 2024 Oscars.
Together for Palestine
In September 2025, Brian Eno helped organise Together for Palestine, a four-hour benefit at Wembley Arena in London.
It brought together musicians, actors, activists and Palestinian speakers. Damon Albarn, PinkPantheress, Rina Sawayama, James Blake and Palestinian singers Elyanna and Saint Levant were among those who performed. Benedict Cumberbatch, Florence Pugh and Riz Ahmed also appeared.
Together for Palestine raised £1.5 million.