Is Censorship the Best PR?

On Macklemore, Ed Sheeran, Robert Kraft, and free speech.

In 2003, a photo identifying a Malibu mansion as Barbra Streisand’s was included in a documentary project about coastal erosion. Streisand sued the photographer (and associated website) for $50 million. Only six people had downloaded the photo before the suit (two were Streisand’s lawyers). But thanks to the PR fallout, the downloads soon ballooned past 420,000.

Years later, TechDirt journalist Mike Masnick coined the phenomenon the ‘Streisand Effect’ — where an effort to censor something draws more attention than if you’d just left it alone.

I guess Robert Kraft doesn’t read TechDirt.

Earlier this month, rapper Macklemore planned to join Ed Sheeran for ten dates on his North American tour. At the first two shows at MetLife Stadium, Macklemore introduced his song “Hinds Hall” (named for a Palestinian child murdered by the IDF) with a statement on the Israel-Gaza war:

I’ve been trying to figure out a way to say this all day. One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine.

I said, Free Palestine.

I want those words to be loud and clear, so the people from Gaza, all the way to the occupied West Bank, know that we have not forgotten them.

And this next song was inspired by the bravery of Columbia University students who led an encampment movement that mobilized the entire world; open up hearts, myself included, so thank you to those students that risked their diplomas, that risked their tuition, that risked their scholarships, that stood up and said, no. CUAD students, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voices for Peace. Thank you, guys.

To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.

So I say Free Palestine, I say Free Lebanon, I say Free Cuba, I say Free Congo, Free Sudan, I say Free all people in America living in fear of this terrorist organization, ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.

You can agree with his statement or not. You can say it omits pertinent info and context, as many (all?) opinions do. But to claim that it constitutes ‘hate speech’? Come on.

But Robert Kraft thinks it does.

Sheeran was scheduled to play Massachusetts’s Gillette Stadium, which is owned by Kraft, but Kraft threw a wrench in that plan. In a public statement, Kraft called Macklemore’s concert speech, his visuals (which I haven’t seen), and his history of related statements “hate speech.” The nod to Macklemore’s ‘history’ is notable, as Kraft is likely alluding to the rapper’s 2014 appearance in antisemitic clothing. Macklemore apologized and said he chose the costume’s elements ‘at random’ (since it involved a prosthetic nose, that’s hard to believe). But Kraft is drawing a throughline from that incident to Macklemore’s current beliefs, to imply antisemitism.

After the second MetLife show, according to Macklemore, Kraft called Sheeran to say that if Sheeran didn’t drop Macklemore from the tour, Kraft wouldn’t let Sheeran play Gillette Stadium — and that the other venue owners (whom Kraft called to convince) would bar him too. Sheeran had four choices: Drop Macklemore and proceed as-is, pivot to a different venue on short notice, cancel the remaining dates, or call Kraft’s bluff.

In the end, Macklemore was kicked off of Sheeran’s tour.

So we’re clear: Kraft is worth more than $15 billion, Sheeran is worth almost half a billion, and Macklemore is worth many tens of millions. But how they made their fortunes offers context.

Kraft made his through the corporate world, and Sheeran has been signed to major labels his entire career — but Macklemore is one of the most successful independent recording artists ever. He has never been signed to a major label, has won multiple Grammys, and is the only independent artist (along with his former collaborator Ryan Lewis) to have two songs reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Warner Music (a major label) does handle Macklemore’s radio promo — and Macklemore uses a Warner-owned company (ADA) to distribute his music — but Warner doesn’t own any of Macklemore’s records. So, it’s no surprise someone who made his money like this is accustomed to a level of financial freedom that other artists aren’t.

As for who actually kicked Macklemore off of the tour, Sheeran claims it was the concert promoter (Messina Touring Group). Sheeran also claims to be apolitical in his public-facing brand – but as some have pointed out, Sheeran has previously done benefit concerts for the victims of the Russia-Ukraine war. But the reaction has been swift: by Tuesday, September 15th, all of Sheeran’s opening acts — plus his backing band — quit the tour.

This is pretty unprecedented.

I don’t think that Sheeran or Macklemore are villains here. Macklemore has long been outspoken on the issue; Sheeran hasn’t. They are two artists caught up in something much bigger and older than themselves, each trying to navigate the moment. And let’s not forget that thousands of people who work on Sheeran’s tour – from roadies to production coordinators to food vendors – would have been impacted if Sheeran had opted to cancel.

Artists are not always prepared for the political headwinds they encounter. Macklemore has more experience with that, but Sheeran is quickly realizing that his not taking a stance is, in fact, a stance. Artists can also make mistakes. There’s still time for him to learn and to grow.

I don’t feel that way about Kraft.

Legally, Kraft and the other stadium owners have every right to censor speech at their venues. The First Amendment applies to Congress; thanks to the Supreme Court, it also applies to the executive branch and to state and local governments. Kraft’s company, The Kraft Group, is private, so constitutional free speech rules do not restrict it. If Kraft wants to bar someone from playing at his venue based on their political beliefs, he can.

But that doesn’t mean Kraft’s decision is morally sound, or even helpful to his own goals.

In 2019, Kraft founded the Blue Square Alliance to Combat Hate, with the mission of fighting antisemitism (it has since expanded to allegedly include all hate). Kraft has given more than $150 million to the organization. But he has now undermined it. Macklemore’s statement at MetLife Stadium was, objectively, not hate speech. By acting like it was, Kraft is torching Blue Square’s credibility. On top of that, if Kraft really wanted to limit Macklemore’s speech, he would have…done nothing! Macklemore has been speaking out on Palestine for years. That isn’t new. Barring any interference, I doubt that Macklemore’s statements would’ve made headlines. But by censoring them, Kraft has started an epic Streisand effect. We’re talking tens (hundreds?) of millions of people who wouldn’t have seen Macklemore’s speech otherwise. It’s a PR dream!

For Kraft, it gets worse. His actions also play into the antisemitic trope that Jews control entertainment and the media. This age-old conspiracy originated a century ago. Jews were excluded from many trades, so they looked for work in nascent industries like these. And when they began to find success, other Jews soon followed. Some Jewish people lead large media or entertainment companies, and they may choose not to platform beliefs they dislike. But this is also true for any owner of a company, regardless of faith. And, by getting other stadium owners on board to ban Macklemore, Kraft also played into the Cabal-control conspiracy theory. As a Jewish person myself, it’s infuriating to watch these theories spread, but even more infuriating to see powerful Jewish people assist in that spread. The guy who founded a nine-figure group to combat antisemitism has, in just a few days, done little more than inflame it.

Put simply, Kraft is outmatched in this media era. Maybe in the days when there were a mere handful of TV, radio, and print outlets, speech could be censored with far more limited repercussions. But that’s not possible with the Internet. Kraft is also up against one of the most successful independent musicians ever. Regardless of talent, you don’t get there without marketing skills.

At the end of the day, the real tragedy is that more than 70,000 people have been murdered by the Israeli military in Gaza since October 7th. Tens of thousands of them were children. And more than a thousand Israelis were murdered by Hamas on October 7th. Several dozen of them were children, who did nothing to deserve their fate. Anyone who feels otherwise is a monster.

Additionally, while this war didn’t start on October 7th, it has fundamentally changed since that day. Whether we like it or not, this issue now permeates our politics, our culture, and our media. Our taxes perpetuate the ongoing violence. Our politicians could stop it, but don’t — in fact, they may soon give the Israeli government a massive weapons package.

In a democracy like the United States, the answer is never to censor speech. It’s to increase it, from all sources and perspectives, and to facilitate dialogue.

Kraft recently said he would “welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts” because “our goal is the same — peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate.” I hope that Macklemore takes him up on it. And I hope that we, as a society, keep speaking to those with whom we disagree. Because once we stop trying to understand each other, we all lose. In the age of social media, our societal fabric, like that Malibu coastline, is eroding.

Music has a long tradition of activism. Of civil rights, education, politics, and change. To pretend it doesn’t is to erase music’s entire history and legacy in this country.

We may not agree on the issue of Israel and Palestine, but I hope we can agree on this:

Silencing artists is never the answer.

NOTE: In full transparency, I have a history with both Macklemore and Ed Sheeran. In early 2013, the first video I ever made for Funny Or Die was with Macklemore and his producer, Ryan Lewis. As a production newbie, I was nervous – but Macklemore couldn’t have been kinder. And in 2015, I helped get Ed to perform at the American Institute for Stuttering charity gala (my dad, like Sheeran, is a stutterer). To my surprise, not only did Sheeran agree – he showed up an hour early to spend time with young stutterers. He later performed for the audience, donated signed guitars on the spot, decided to out-bid the wealthy attendees on those guitars, and gifted the instruments to the kids. I sincerely believe that both Ed and Ben (Macklemore) mean incredibly well, and it’s why they’ve had the careers they’ve had.