WEBVTT - Ed Sheeran’s tour implodes amid antisemitism row

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<v Speaker 1>Today's biggest news from The Australian, I'm Claire Harvey with

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<v Speaker 1>The Front's afternoon headlines. One of the world's biggest artists,

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<v Speaker 1>Ed Sheeran, says his concerts are about love and unity,

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<v Speaker 1>but now his United States tour has caused an almighty

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<v Speaker 1>political and cultural ruckus, with accusations flying about censorship and racism.

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<v Speaker 1>Sheeran agreed to a request by American rapper Macklemore to

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<v Speaker 1>support him on the globe-spanning year-long tour for Sheeran's album Loop.

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<v Speaker 1>But on September 5, at a stadium in New Jersey, McLemore,

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<v Speaker 1>whose real name is Ben Hegarty, played a song dedicated

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<v Speaker 1>to a Gazan child killed in the conflict between Israel

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<v Speaker 1>and Hamas and declared his support for the Palestinian cause.

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<v Speaker 2>Free Palestine. I said free Palestine. I want those words

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<v Speaker 2>to be loud and clear so the people from Gaza

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<v Speaker 2>all the way to the occupied West Bank know that

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<v Speaker 2>we have not forgotten them.

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<v Speaker 1>A day later, at the same venue, McLemore told Jewish

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<v Speaker 1>members of the audience he was not attacking them but

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<v Speaker 1>was criticising Israel.

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<v Speaker 2>And I want to say this before I get into

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<v Speaker 2>the song. I want to say this to all of

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<v Speaker 2>my Jewish brothers and sisters. Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid,

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<v Speaker 2>being against genocide. In no way is it a criticism

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<v Speaker 2>of you. My message is for peace, love, for all

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<v Speaker 2>human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.

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<v Speaker 1>So I say free Palestine.

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<v Speaker 2>I say free Lebanon, I say free Cuba, I say

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<v Speaker 2>free Congo, free Sudan, free all people in America living

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<v Speaker 2>in fear over this.

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<v Speaker 1>Terrorist organisation, ICE. That prompted another of the world's biggest artists,

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<v Speaker 1>the American singer Pink, to repost a meme criticising McLemore.

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<v Speaker 1>Then Pink published a 1,300-word statement declaring that, as a

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<v Speaker 1>Jewish woman, she believed McLemore's actions were anti-Semitic and said

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<v Speaker 1>she'd been shocked in 2014 when the rapper appeared on

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<v Speaker 1>stage wearing a black wig and fake beard and a

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<v Speaker 1>prosthetic hooked nose. McLemore later apologised for that costume, saying

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<v Speaker 1>he didn't mean to invoke a Jewish caricature, but agreed

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<v Speaker 1>it could have been interpreted that way. Pink said she

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<v Speaker 1>didn't buy McLemore's claim that Jewish people shouldn't feel he

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<v Speaker 1>was attacking them when he attacked Israel. She said that

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<v Speaker 1>as a Jewish mother, she felt it was her right

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<v Speaker 1>to decide what to be offended by. Then came in

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<v Speaker 1>Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots

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<v Speaker 1>American football team and a Democrat who is close to

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump. Kraft is a strong supporter of Israel and

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<v Speaker 1>reportedly rang Ed Sheeran to say McLemore wasn't welcome to

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<v Speaker 1>play at a forthcoming gig at a stadium his company

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<v Speaker 1>owns in Massachusetts. According to McLemore, Kraft then mobilised other

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<v Speaker 1>stadium owners to swing in behind him. The tour's promoter

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<v Speaker 1>told McLemore he was out of a gig. Sheeran released

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<v Speaker 1>a statement saying he supported McLemore's right to free speech

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<v Speaker 1>and that he wasn't responsible for him being cancelled. But

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<v Speaker 1>by then, the tour was falling apart around him. The

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<v Speaker 1>other support acts, including Billie Eilish's brother Phineas, a Danish

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<v Speaker 1>artist called Lucas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe, as

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<v Speaker 1>well as an Irish folk band called Beoga, quit the tour.

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<v Speaker 1>Sheeran says he has his own private views about the

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<v Speaker 1>Israel-Hamas conflict and he chooses to use his fame not

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<v Speaker 1>to shout, but to try to maintain diplomacy and keep

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<v Speaker 1>conversations open. Check out that story live right now at

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<v Speaker 1>theaustralian.com.au and come back to the front first thing in

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<v Speaker 1>the morning for a story that brings it all home.

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<v Speaker 1>The surgeons and nurses who fought vainly to save a

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<v Speaker 1>10-year-old Jewish girl shot in the Bondi Beach Massacre. That's

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<v Speaker 1>right here Thursday morning.