Lorde signals support for Macklemore with ‘Free Palestine’ jacket

Singer Lorde has expressed solidarity with rapper Macklemore by posting a photo wearing a custom white jacket featuring the handwritten message ‘Free Palestine’. In the post, she tagged an account associated with Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium.

The gesture follows a controversy surrounding Ed Sheeran’s tour. Macklemore was previously removed as a support act after delivering an on-stage speech calling for a ‘free Palestine’. Robert Kraft criticized the speech, describing it as ‘deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community’.

While Ed Sheeran expressed that he was ‘not complicit’ and described the Israel-Palestine conflict as a ‘tragedy’ involving suffering on both sides, several other artists and tour supporters have withdrawn in solidarity with Macklemore. Other figures including Greta Thunberg, Roger Waters, and Hayley Williams have also voiced support for the rapper.