Mark Ruffalo voiced his support for the pro-Palestinian movement with an unexpected video appearance at a Macklemore concert in Ireland on Monday.
The 58-year-old actor surprised fans at 3Arena in Dublin, where he appeared in a recorded message during the 43-year-old rapper’s tour opener.
Ruffalo, a longtime advocate for Palestinian rights, spoke out as Macklemore—whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty—performed his first concert since being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour. The decision followed Macklemore’s on-stage comments supporting Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.
“Keep fighting for a free Palestine and for humanity all over the world and equality amongst people,” Ruffalo said in the brief video, according to the Irish Star.
“There will be no peace until there’s equality. Thoughts and love, have a great show,” he added. “Keep fighting the good fight.”
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Ruffalo and Macklemore for comment.
Mark Ruffalo, 58, made a surprise video appearance at Macklemore’s tour opener in Dublin, Ireland, on Monday to express his support for the pro-Palestinian movement; Ruffalo is pictured on Sunday in Hollywood
Ruffalo, who has long supported Palestinian rights, spoke about the cause as Macklemore, 43, performed his first headline concert after being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour over on-stage remarks supporting Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza; pictured Monday in Dublin
Macklemore also addressed his removal from Sheeran’s blockbuster tour, which he said happened “six weeks ago,” during the Dublin performance. He had shouted “Free Palestine” on stage.
“Two words is all that it took. Two words that are rooted in love and liberation,” said the “Thrift Shop” rapper. “Not against anybody, not divisive. Not a call for hatred. But a call to recognize our shared humanity.
“I said, ‘Free Palestine!’” he continued, explaining that he wanted Palestinians to have “The same thing that I want for all of us: freedom, dignity, the right to exist without fear.”
Macklemore wore a keffiyeh around his neck during the Dublin concert as a show of solidarity with Palestinians. He said people shared a desire to “be able to raise our children in the homes that we grew up in, not having to prove our humanity to the rest of the world.”
“Those two words are so threatening to some people,” he said. “They would rather silence those two words than confront what they actually mean. Freedom that requires another person’s oppression isn’t freedom at all.
“And while the world debates those words, we see the videos, we see the footage, we see parents pulling their children out of the rubble,” Macklemore continued. “Families erased. Devastation beyond our imagination, and somehow, those words have become more controversial than the suffering that made them necessary.
“That’s why we are here tonight. That is why we are here, because throughout history, music has given people a place to resist, to come together as a collective, to share our grief, to share our stories, to move from the heart, to mobilize people with the frequency of love,” he concluded. “The heartbeat in our drum that makes us feel alive, that makes us feel connected.”
Macklemore previously said his “Free Palestine” tour sold out “immediately” after he announced the shows in response to being removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour over pro-Palestinian comments made on stage.
“Keep fighting for a free Palestine and for humanity all over the world and equality amongst people,” Ruffalo said in a message shared via the Irish Star. “There will be no peace until there’s equality. Thoughts and love, have a great show. Keep fighting the good fight”; pictured Sunday in Hollywood
Macklemore addressed the controversy surrounding his removal “six weeks ago” from Sheeran’s blockbuster tour after shouting “Free Palestine” during a performance; pictured Monday in Dublin
“All three shows sold out immediately,” Macklemore wrote on Instagram late last month.
“I’m honestly blown away. We put these shows together fast and in community, believing that musicians can stand in solidarity with Palestine, use the stage to raise funds and show what collective action can look like.”
Controversy erupted earlier in September when Macklemore made the remarks, leading to his removal as an opening artist from the remainder of Sheeran’s shows.
In response, all of Sheeran’s opening acts – Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe, as well as his backing band Beoga – announced they would be leaving the tour in solidarity with the rapper and Palestine. Sheeran subsequently apologized to his fans over the handling of the row.
Macklemore then announced he would be embarking on a three-date ‘Free Palestine’ tour with artists who have ‘used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences.’
The ‘Macklemore & Friends: Free Palestine’ tour consists of concerts in Dublin, Paris and London.
The hitmaker declared on his Instagram post announcing the sold-out events: ‘When those in power try to silence our calls for liberation, art will always be a form of resistance.
‘Dublin, Paris and London, thank you for showing up the way you did. The response to these shows is another reminder of how many people across the world are standing together for a free Palestine. Lineups coming soon. Can’t wait to be together.’
‘Two words is all that it took. Two words that are rooted in love and liberation,’ Macklemore said. ‘Not against anybody, not divisive. Not a call for hatred. But a call to recognize our shared humanity. I said, “Free Palestine!”‘ he continued, adding that he wanted Palestinians to have ‘the same thing that I want for all of us: freedom, dignity, the right to exist without fear’; seen with Ed Sheeran (L) in 2014 in Las Vegas
Macklemore’s Free Palestine tour sold-out ‘immediately’ after he announced the concert in response to getting kicked off Ed Sheeran’s US tour for his pro-Palestine comments; seen with Sheeran (L) in 2014 in Las Vegas
The three concerts in Dublin, Paris and London will benefit ‘organizations supporting Palestine and the Palestinian movement’
‘All three shows sold out immediately,’ Macklemore revealed on Instagram in late September. ‘I’m honestly blown away,’ adding that the response shows what collective action can look like’; pictured in 2022 in Auckland, New Zealand
Following the tour opener on October 26, Macklemore will be performing in Paris and London.
He previously revealed that proceeds from the tour will ‘benefit organizations supporting the Palestinian people and movement.’
Meanwhile, Sheeran addressed the backlash around Macklemore’s axing at his Philadelphia concert on September 19.
The British musician told his fans that he’d just been through ‘one of the worst weeks of my life.’
He added: ‘I really didn’t know whether this tour would be carrying on. I really didn’t know whether I’d even be getting on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all. In these situations, you really find out who your friends are, and it’s been a weird week.’
Sheeran has been accused of ‘bowing to the mob’ after his apology, in which he stated that ‘What happened in Israel at Nova music festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.’
He went on: ‘What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.’
‘My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives, and the systemic injustice we’re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.’
After Maclemore was kicked off the British musician’s tour, all of Sheeran’s supporting acts quit in protest. The singer has since apologized to his fans over the handling of the row
Macklemore was removed from Sheeran’s tour after US stadium owner Robert Kraft accused him of hate speech for comments he made during two performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in early September.
Macklemore said on stage that every human being deserves the same freedom, and told the crowd he wanted people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
He then performed his protest song Hind’s Hall while images of the devastation in Gaza were projected on the big screens at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Kraft subsequently banned him from performing at the Gillette Stadium near Boston, which is owned by his holding company, leading to his departure from Sheeran’s tour.
