Nuestra libertad de expresión ilustrada por el caso Ed Sheeran-Macklemore

Hace poco he leído el comentario del lector de un diario. Estaba muy orgulloso de nuestras democracias occidentales, no parecía admitir su historial de atrocidades y afirmaba: "Pero entre otras muchísimas cosas buenas, prácticamente todas a mi modo de ver [de las democracias occidentales], en ningún otro de los sistemas que hay o haya habido en la Tierra podríamos Vd. y yo disentir públicamente sin ser uno de los dos asesinado o acabar en la prisión" [cf. #10 aquí].
Panglossiano puro, nuestro amigo parece vivir en Jauja, qué felicidad. Su caso (¿ingenuidad, cinismo, ignorancia, balcanización del cerebro?) me recuerda al de una persona de mi entorno que confesaba tan ricamente que en la época de Franco podía hacer todo lo que le daba la gana. No era consciente de que estaba informando bastante más sobre sus pulsiones que sobre el régimen de Franco.
Al lector en cuestión le sucede lo mismo: nunca han ido por él, todo es Jauja. Y no va a ser fácil que nadie lo persiga, lo despida, lo censure, lo denuncie, lo juzgue, lo enchirone, lo liquide... si, al escribir sobre el régimen de los Señores, se arranca por ditirambos y otras pleitesías que no harán precisamente temblar los pilares del sistema.
Nuestro autocomplaciente lector, bien educado por la prensa libre y plural, no ha notado que en nuestras relaciones exteriores, "entre otras muchísimas cosas buenas, prácticamente todas", somos nosotros, siempre hemos sido nosotros, los de las “armas de destrucción masiva”, los de la napalmización, agentenaranjización, arrasamiento, devastación constante de países enteros con saqueo posterior. En eso ha consistido nuestra “superioridad”, ayer y hoy.
En cuanto al ganado interno y su libertad de expresión y manifestación, nuestro entusiasta lector tampoco ha percibido que, "entre otras muchísimas cosas buenas, prácticamente todas", no es lo mismo hablar desde el púlpito (o agruparse en multitud disidente) que cuchichear en los bancos. La censura a Adèle Haenel, pese a su carte blanche, lo ilustra bien.
Nuestro dichoso lector —¿iluso, ciego, avalador de crueldades?— vive en el mejor de los mundos, en paralelo a o al margen de las masacres, torturas, asesinatos, represiones, censuras, etc. que han cultivado y cultivan a espuertas, sobre blancos precisos o grupos considerables, todas las democracias occidentales de ayer y hoy —la lista de represaliados de diversa índole que empecé a hacerme mentalmente resultaba interminable... A lo mejor un día la coloco en otro artículo a modo de desordenada letanía de la edificante infamia democrática.
En fin, con la excusa de las palabras de ese lector obnubilado, voy a recordar un caso de ahora mismo, el de Macklemore (de quien ya hemos hablado aquí), y lo que ilustra, y voy a hacerlo con la ayuda del último vídeo de Lowkey para Double Down News:

EL ULTIMÁTUM SECRETO: Ed Sheeran, Macklemore y el multimillonario vinculado a Epstein
Double Down News, 16 sept 2026
La red secreta que silenciaba a Macklemore queda al descubierto.

TRANSCRIPCIÓN con diversos enlaces o acotaciones de mi cosecha para aclarar o ampliar la información:

Lowkey: Ed Sheeran says he doesn't take sides. That can't be the truth. He chose the side of the Epstein class over humanity.
Ed Sheeran told Macklemore that ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with. The main person Ed Sheeran spoke to was the fanatical Zionist billionaire Robert Kraft [de Brooklyn; el del papel y los embalajes. Es el propietario de los New England Patriots de la NFL. Según Max Blumenthal, es un "miembro de alto rango de la clase Epstein implicado en delitos sexuales"].

Robert Kraft (The Genesis Prize, Jerusalem Theatre, 20.06.2019): After my family, there is nothing I'm more passionate about than the State of Israel and my Jewish identity.

Kraft features in the Epstein Files and previously paid Ed to perform at his wedding.
Kraft told Ed Sheeran that Macklemore is banned from the Gillette Stadium, which Kraft owns and runs a massive Zionist surveillance and propaganda centre from.

Jericka Duncan (Report on Robert Kraft's campaign to stop hate, CBS Weekend News, 8.02.2026): Inside the Patriots Stadium, a command centre of stats tracking hate speech online. It shows where it's coming from, the time of day, and how it's trending, especially among younger people.

The irony, of course, is that Robert Kraft publicly lorded Israel as a bastion of free speech.

Robert Kraft (The Genesis Prize, Jerusalem Theatre, 20.06.2019): I've personally made over 100 trips to our homeland. And as every Israeli knows, including my friend the Prime Minister, it's a bastion of free speech.

While in America, he does the exact opposite, trying to crush your free speech on Palestine.

Kraft donates hundreds of millions of dollars to pro-Israel lobby groups and was even given a $1 million award from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Benjamin Netanyahu (The Genesis Prize, Jerusalem Theatre, 20.06.2019): Robert Kraft fights back, and he's committed to fight BDS, and to fight the slanders against Israel, and to stand up with the state of Israel. A terrific champion of Israel and someone that I am deeply proud to call my friend.
Robert Kraft (The Genesis Prize, Jerusalem Theatre, 20.06.2019): Thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, not only for your kind words, but for your decades of leadership, but especially what you do for this State of Israel.

One of Kraft's most rewarding experiences has been ferrying sports stars to Israel for propaganda tours.

Robert Kraft (The Genesis Prize, Jerusalem Theatre, 20.06.2019): (…) 27 missions that I've been privileged to lead to Israel. This week, we have 15 current and former New England Patriot players. I'd like to ask them to please stand with their significant others and be recognized.

Kraft isn't just any NFL owner. He is a key political asset in Israel's influence matrix.
His name actually appears on Benjamin Netanyahu's handwritten 2007 list of millionaires.
[Se trata de una lista mecanografiada, y enmendada a mano, con correcciones y añadidos, de magnates potenciales grandes donantes preparada por el entorno de Benjamin Netanyahu para su campaña electoral interna del Likud de 2007, publicada por Yedioth Ahronoth el 22.10.2010 =>

NUMBER 1: Sheldon Adelson (casinos), Ronald Perelman (MacAndrews & Forbes), Stephen Wynn (casinos y hoteles), Ronald Lauder (cosméticos), Tamir Sapir (especulador y promotor inmobiliario), Charles Kushner, Timothy Blixseth, Ira Rennert, Iner Wermemser & Family,, Arnon Milchan, Aviv “Vivi” Nevo, Moshe Gertner, Benny Alagem (fundador de Packard Bell), Zack Gertler, David Bodner, Murray Huberfeld
NUMBER 2: Nasser Khalili, Rupert Murdoch, Summer Redstone, Thomas Lee, William Davidson, Robert Kraft
NUMBER 3 4: Lily Safra, Joseph Safra, Moise Safra, Steven Ballmer, Carl Icahn, Leonard Blavatnik, Eli Broad, Micky Arison, Samuel Zell, David Geffen, Leonard Lauder, Leslie Wexner, Edgar Bronfman (heredero de licores Seagram), Hank Greenberg, Donald Trump, Haim Saban, Mortimer Zuckerman, Henry Kravis, Roland Arnall.

Añadidos a mano: Stef Wertheimer, Eyal Ofer, Gerald Ronson, Moti Ganz, Poju Zabludowicz, Motti Zisser, Manny Weiss, David Hagen, Shvilli (Brassol) [?], Simon Falic, John Gandel, Joshua Rowe, Michael Sinclair, Tony Gelbart, Michael Segal, Yehuda Weingarten, Walter Soriano, Jay Schottenstein, Don Soderquist, James (Jim) Tisch, Zeev Wolfson, Vincent Tchenguiz, Cliff [Clifford M.] Sobel, Len Blavatnik (de nuevo).

Como se ve en la hoja, las correcciones a mano introducen modificaciones en los grupos a que se adscribe a cada magnate, en función de la probabilidad de que aportaran pasta, siendo improbable en los numerados con 3 y 4]

A leak revealing individuals considered to be funders for Netanyahu's political rise.
Inside Gillette Stadium itself, Kraft doesn't just host football. He runs a high-tech command centre that monitors social media in real time, tracking and flagging content critical of Israel and Zionism under the banner of fighting “Anti-semitism”.
Beyond his sports empire, Kraft sat on the board of Apollo Global, alongside Leon Black, Jeffrey Epstein's primary financial vault for a decade.
Kraft himself appears in the Epstein flight logs, while Black was named in the Epstein files after being accused in federal lawsuits of horrific sexual violence, including the rape of a disabled minor inside Epstein's Manhattan townhouse.
This is the same Leon Black who served as a primary donor and top funder to current Israeli president, Yitzhak Herzog.
According to Macklemore, Kraft personally contacted Sheeran to tell him Macklemore would never be allowed to step foot on stage at the Gillette Stadium.
Kraft then organized a coalition of fellow stadium owners to issue an absolute ultimatum. Drop the opener or lose the venues.
Kraft was joined by a broader syndicate of promilitary NFL oligarchs, who use their control over public arenas to enforce political censorship.
Look at Arthur Blank, of the Atlanta Falcons, who controls Mercedes Benz Stadium [Atlanta, Georgia].

Blank is a major financial backer of the joint Nefesh B'Nefesh and Friends of the IDF Lone Soldiers program, which subsidizes foreign fighters moving to Israel to join the Israeli military. A military Blank's own family actively serves in.

Look at David Tepper, of the Carolina Panthers, owner of the Bank of America Stadium [Charlotte], who personally frequents elite galas to bankroll the Friends of the IDF charity.

And look at the Glazer family, owners of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Raymond James Stadium, close personal friends of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barack.

The Glazers fund initiatives to help Israeli combat veterans. And crucially, family member Dan Glazer serves directly on the committee of the Friends of the IDF, actively steering organizational support and financial pipelines directly to the Israeli military apparatus.

Consider the double standard. Kanye West, who released a track literally titled Heil! is currently allowed to book and tour major US venues without issue.
The evolution of “Anti-semitism” will be studied for decades to come.
In fact, Kanye West is actually scheduled to perform at the exact same stadium venues, including SoFi Stadium, in Los Angeles [Inglewood], and Raymond James Stadium, in Tampa, where the billionaire team owners actively moved to ban and cancel Macklemore.

But is Ed Sheeran actually apolitical?

Ed Sheeran: I just want to say to all Ukrainians that I love you. I stand with you and I'm so proud to be playing this fundraising event next week.

He raised millions through United 24, a charity initiative when 95% of the funds are funnelled directly into the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence.
And let's be clear, death, injury, and statistics with regards to civilians and children bear no comparison. Palestine and Gaza are fundamentally worse in every single metric.
The selective morality of pop culture is staggering.
Behind the venues stands the record industry itself, exerting its own immense institutional weight. Ed Sheeran is set to sign a massive deal with Universal Music Group. Follow the executive roster Universal:
[Sir] Lucian Grainge, CEO of Universal [Music Group (UMG)], has been pictured repeatedly at fundraisers for the Friends of the IDF.
Then, there is Haim Saban, a UMG [non-executive] director who is a former Israeli soldier and the largest fundraiser for the Friends of the IDF in history. Saban famously declared, "I'm a one-issue guy and my issue is Israel."

Ed Sheeran was crushed under the immense financial and political weight of an elite cartel of billionaires, stadium owners, lobby groups, and record executives, who run the global entertainment complex.
When taking an a-political stance means capitulating to institutional blackmail and maintaining the status quo for an ongoing genocide, silence is complicity. And when ‘Free Palestine’ becomes too dangerous to say on stage, the stage itself becomes an act of resistance. From Bob Dylan, to Bob Marley, to Rage Against the Machine, to Public Enemy…, music, art, and politics have always entwined, often on the side of the oppressed and marginalized. The idea they should be separate is a political invention by billionaires to benefit billionaires.

I have known Ed Sheeran for over 20 years. He is one of the most talented human beings I have ever known, but he has been led astray in this case.
Once upon a time [3:13 PM, 16.10.2011], Ed tweeted ["new @LowkeyMusic1 album out today! Gonna check it out now..."] in support of my album Soundtrack to the Struggle, which went on to break into the national charts.
That album included the song Long Live Palestine. Ed Sheeran has more power than he knows. And many years ago, he published a song in which he used the words, "You need me, I don't need you." Now is the time for Ed Sheeran to say that clearly to these Zionist overlords. They need you, Ed. You don't need them.

This video was brought to you by Double Down News, where we are delivering, day in day out, public service journalism.
Please keep us going and existing by joining our Patreon now.

Sobre el caso Macklemore, puede leerse el artículo sin tapujos, en su blog, de la periodista australiana Caitlin Johnstone, Oh My God Shut the Fuck Up About "Antisemitism" - "Antisemitism" watchdog groups are flipping the fuck out about hip hop artist Macklemore saying “Free Palestine” while opening for Ed Sheeran, and the western press are of course helping to spin this ridiculous nonsense as a massive scandal (Por Dios, ¡que se callen de una puta vez con lo del «antisemitismo»! - A los perros guardianes del «antisemitismo» se les está yendo la olla porque el artista de hip hop Macklemore gritara «Palestina libre» mientras actuaba como telonero de Ed Sheeran; y, por supuesto, la prensa occidental está contribuyendo a presentar este ridículo desatino como un escándalo mayúsculo), 8.09.2026 (4-6 minutos de lectura o audición). Aquí en francés. Vale la pena leer las reflexiones exactas, humanistas, justísimas, de Macklemore, y, desde luego, también la uniforme reacción manipuladora standard de la prensa libre y plural (CBS News, USA Today, The New York Post, Variety, TMZ) o, claro, de la indescriptible ADL u otras instancias estructurales de hasbará.

Vistas las tradicionales y consuetudinarias acusaciones difamatorias de "antisemitismo" que, procedentes de semitocidas y semitocidófilos, diluvian ahora sobre Macklemore, Johnstone se ha sentido obligada a publicar ayer, día 16, una coda a su artículo anterior: Debunking The Claim That Macklemore Has A “History Of Antisemitism” - People who defend Israel’s actions in Gaza consistently act in bad faith. Of course they do. They support genocide. They’re bad people.

Recomiendo también la lectura del artículo del artista y escritor radicado en Los Ángeles Trish Hosein, Ed Sheeran, Macklemore, and the music industry’s habit of choosing white feelings over Black and Brown lives - How Robert Kraft got Macklemore booted from Ed Sheeran's tour for saying "Free Palestine" — and why the backlash reveals the racial logic of "neutrality," from Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" to today's entertainment industry, Mondoweiss, 17.09.2026.

Billie Holiday, Strange Fruit, 1939
La letra, que pone los pelos de punta, aún más en la voz de Billie Holiday, es del poeta comunista judío Abel Meeropol.

_____________________________
ACTUALIZACIÓN del 21.09.2026:

Robert Kraft ha afirmado que sus donaciones ayudan a los palestinos. El periodista Jonah Valdez decidió llevar a cabo una investigación al respecto y la ha publicado en The Intercept el 18.09.2026.
El balance de Valdez permite aseverar que el señor Kraft trata de envolvernos con sus bolas —algo complicado dada su naturaleza profundamente inverosímil:

Robert Kraft Claims His Donations Help Palestinians. Turns Out He’s Funding Friends of the IDF
An analysis of tax forms by The Intercept show Kraft’s charity and LLC have donated to Friends of the IDF and AIPAC’s super PAC
Jonah Valdez - The Intercept, September 18 2026, 12:16 p.m. ET

Billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft wants you to know he has spent “decades” supporting the Palestinian people.
Days after pressuring pop singer Ed Sheeran to drop rapper Macklemore from his tour over the latter’s “Free Palestine” remarks, Kraft claimed in a statement posted to social media that “for decades” he has “supported efforts that create opportunity for Palestinians,” such as initiatives to “to build businesses, create jobs, and forge relationships” between Israelis and Palestinians. The claims were made as a part of Kraft’s pledge to give $2 million to “aid in the region.”
Kraft did not disclose which organizations would receive his money.
Nor did he mention his long history of donating to Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, an organization that collects money on behalf of Israeli soldiers, and the United Democracy Project, the super PAC of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee [AIPAC], which lobbies to tilt American politics in favor of Israel. Kraft has also given money to a host of pro-Israel advocacy groups that attack critics of Israel, spread content that critics warn is Islamophobic, and have steadfastly defended Israel against mounting evidence of its ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza.
The Intercept’s analysis of tax forms since 2006 show that Kraft’s charity group, the Kraft Family Foundation, has donated $196,000 to the Friends of the IDF and an additional $123,000 to other organizations — Brothers for Life and Friends of Israel Disabled Veterans — that directly benefit Israeli military soldiers. In his seven separate donations to the Friends of the IDF, Kraft earmarked the money to “Promote education for young Jewish soldiers.”
(...)
LEER MÁS.

Es decir, en resumen, "Queda al descubierto la hipocresía sobre Palestina de Robert Kraft, donante de AIPAC y de Friends of the IDF": lo que revela el análisis de esas declaraciones de impuestos de la Fundación de la Familia Kraft es que no ha parado de financiar sionismo desde al menos 2006, así como a grupos que parece que se dedican más bien a influir en los medios de comunicación y en las narrativas públicas:

196.000 dólares para Friends of the IDF ("Amigos de las FDI"), un grupo que ha reclutado a jóvenes judíos estadounidenses para reforzar el ejército israelí, incluso durante la guerra de Israel en Gaza.
123.000 dólares para Brothers for Life y Friends of Israel Disabled Veterans, organizaciones que apoyan a las tropas coloniales genocidas israelíes.
3 millones de dólares para el "super PAC" de la red de cabildeo sionista AIPAC —el United Democracy Project— desde 2022.
La Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (Fundación para Combatir el Antisemitismo) se lanzó en 2019 con una inversión de 20 millones de dólares por parte de Kraft.
El Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), cofundado por un exoficial de inteligencia israelí y asesor "antiterrorista" de varios presidentes de Israel, recibió 150.000 dólares.
CAMERA, un organismo de vigilancia mediática que obstaculiza reportajes e investigaciones académicas críticas con Israel, recibió 63.500 dólares.
Investigative Project on Terrorism, una organización calificada por sus críticos como parte de la "red de islamofobia de EE. UU.", recibió 50.000 dólares.

Se recuerda que los palestinos constituyen un pueblo que el Sionismo martiriza y saquea hace muchas décadas, con una crueldad extrema y sistemática, gracias a la financiación de gente como Robert Kraft.