California educator and children’s content creator Ms. Rachel is receiving praise online after criticizing singer Ed Sheeran over his stance on Palestine following the situation surrounding Macklemore’s presence at his tour.
Macklemore was recently removed from the remaining U.S. dates of Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour. This was after several venues said they would not host the shows if the rapper remained on the lineup. The decision came after Macklemore made pro-Palestinian comments, including saying “Free Palestine.” This happened during his September 4 performance at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. Sheeran later clarified that the tour’s promoter and venues, not he, made the decision. He said that he had tried to find a solution but ultimately had to accept their decision.
The decision has since drawn further criticism, with all of Ed Sheeran’s remaining opening acts dropping out in support of Macklemore and Palestine. Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and Beoga each announced that they would no longer perform on the tour, adding to the criticism surrounding Macklemore’s removal. Children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel has also joined the criticism, publicly expressing support for Macklemore and Palestinians.
The educator shared several Instagram posts criticizing Sheeran over the situation. In one post, she wrote, “Ed Sheeran is making a political statement to his fans when he does a concert to support Ukraine, but considers Palestine too dangerous and political.”
Ms. Rachel also criticized Sheeran in the caption of the post, writing, “Imagine being a Palestinian kid and seeing he [Ed Sheeran] did a concert for Ukraine but when over 20,000 Palestinian children are killed he’s silent. When his opening act [Macklemore] says Palestinians should be free and not in a genocide he lets a billionaire [Robert Kraft] kick him off. Palestinian kids have been so dehumanized that as they continue to be killed people debate about being political. It’s sick.”
The children’s educator also shared another post criticizing the singer. “Ed Sheeran had an opportunity [to] 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,” she wrote.
Ms. Rachel then added in a comment, “Imagine looking back 20 years from now at yourself kicking someone off a tour because they spoke out during a genocide that has killed 20,000 kids.” Her criticism of Sheeran quickly received praise from many people online.
Fans Praise California’s Ms. Rachel After Calling Out Ed Sheeran
Fans quickly praised California educator Ms. Rachel after she shared several posts criticizing Ed Sheeran following the recent controversy. Many believed she was doing the right thing by speaking out, while criticizing Sheeran’s handling of the situation. “Embarrassing day to be Ed Sheeran,” one person wrote. Another person added, “At some point fence sitting becomes the more risky proposition for public figures like celebrities. I’m glad we’re moving in a direction that exposes those that have no principles.”
More people specifically mentioned the educator while praising her response to the controversy. “If nobody got me, Ms Rachel got me,” one person wrote. Another person said, “I’m down for a Ms Rachel X Macklemore collab tbh. A little cute family friendly rap song to teach the kiddos something.” Someone else added, “Leave it to Ms. Rachel to concisely sum up exactly why Ed is part of the problem here. People need to stop rolling over for billionaires.”
Ms. Rachel’s criticism of Ed Sheeran also led to discussion about whether more celebrities and public figures should speak out about the controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal from the tour. It also prompted many viewers to say that more celebrities should use their platforms to speak up for Palestinians.
