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Last month, Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour after speaking onstage about Palestine. Immediately, a heated debate erupted about free speech, power, and celebrities’ responsibilities to take a stand. And then, just as it was starting to feel inescapable, the story disappeared from the headlines.
In this episode, Jena and Michelle revisit what happened through the original statements from the people involved. They discuss why it’s so hard to make sense of complex events, and how neutrality is starting to feel like a relic of the past. They also dive into questions about free expression, who controls public discourse, and how we can preserve our own cognitive autonomy in an algorithmic media landscape.
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Find us online!
Read our writing about free speech and governance:
Open inquiry, on campus and online, Feed for Thought by Jena Wuu, 2026.
Check out our recs:
What universities might learn from social media companies about content moderation, Tech Policy Press, 2024.
Macklemore, Ed Sheeran, and Vanity Politics - The Subtext, The Subtext and No Small Endeavor (YouTube), 2026.
Learn more about the Converse ad controversy:
Converse removes ad that drew comparisons to K.K.K. imagery, The New York Times, 2026.
Learn more about Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery:
Paramount completes acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, creating a new global entertainment leader, Skydance, Skydance, 2026.
Paramount completes its takeover of Warner Bros to become one giant Hollywood giant known as Skydance, AP News, 2026.
Paramount and state AGs settle lawsuit, allowing Warner Bros. merger to proceed, CNBC, 2026.
Warner Bros. and Paramount are now Skydance – what the merger means for you, USA Today, 2026.
Learn more about upcoming films about tech CEOs:
Alex Gibney spent four years getting inside Elon Musk’s head. Now he wants Musk out of his., Los Angeles Times, 2026.
Artificial review - Luca Guadagnino takes on OpenAI in muddled tech satire, The Guardian, 2026.
“The Social Reckoning” Review: Sounding the alarm, The New York Times, 2026.
“You Can See Everything” Review: Nathan Fielder’s documentary about Elizabeth Holmes is a shameless, fascinating, reality-tv-eats-its-tail look at entitled duplicity, Variety, 2026.
Statement links (in order of appearance in this episode):
Macklemore’s full speech at MetLife Stadium that led to his removal from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour, Billboard Nigeria (YouTube), 2026.
Israeli American Council (IAC) (Instagram post on September 6th), 2026.
Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour after onstage “Free Palestine” statements, Rolling Stone, 2026.
Bob Kraft explains decision to urge ouster of rapper Macklemore from Ed Sheeran tour, WGBH, 2026.
Other audio clip sources:
Lizzy Savetsky (TikTok), 2026.
Amy Albertson (TikTok), 2026.
Learn more about what happened with Macklemore and Ed Sheeran:
The 40-minute phone call that left Ed Sheeran’s tour hanging by a thread, The Wall Street Journal, 2026.
Dollitics, Dolly Parton’s America, 2019.
Ed Sheeran, Macklemore, and the politics of staying silent, The Global Story, 2026.
Even Ed Sheeran’s apology took both sides, The New Yorker, 2026.
Macklemore says his Free Palestine tour “sold out immediately,” teases “lineups coming soon,” Billboard, 2026.
Ms Rachel (Instagram), 2026.
Ms Rachel, the controversial queen of toddler TV: “My goal isn’t to be the most liked. It’s to help kids and speak the truth,” The Guardian, 2026.
Pink (Instagram), 2026.
The politics of Dolly Parton, The Michigan Daily, 2019.
Remember the Dixie Chicks’ controversial Entertainment Weekly cover?, Taste of Country, 2018.
A timeline of the Ed Sheeran and Macklemore “Free Palestine” tour controversy, Billboard, 2026.
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About Did You See? with Jena and Michelle
Did you see that? Whether it’s in the news or pop culture, in print or online, we are living in a media overload. It’s a lot to process!
Did You See? is for anyone looking for space to pause and work through the media moments shaping how we see and understand the world.
Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. ◾
