Poor bloke. He's lost so much it's almost too awful to contemplate.

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The American rapper Macklemore has revealed just how much he has sacrificed after making a series of highly principled stands against injustice.

Money and brand deals? Gone. Sponsorships and festival appearances? Gone. Friendships? Vanished.

Still, amid all this heartbreak, at least Macklemore has retained his most cherished asset.

His moral superiority.

Meanwhile, those oppressed people on whose behalf Macklemore has forfeited so much have lost significantly more. You know, like limbs. And lives.

Macklemore was recently dumped from his supporting role to the English singer Ed Sheeran after delivering pro-Palestinian messages on stage. Cue the customary outrage from the entertainment industry's league of shrill moral grandstanders.

Other supporting acts, including Sheeran's backing band, promptly abandoned the US tour in solidarity with Macklemore. More artists then joined the pile-on, denouncing Sheeran as a coward for refusing to turn his concerts into political rallies.

Macklemore pompously declared: "There is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed."

Ah, there it is. A moral judgement. An irrefutable truth. Agree with me or you're part of the problem.

Sheeran, who said stadium owners demanded Macklemore's axing, has since been forced into the absurd position of publicly explaining his conscience.

He told audiences the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel was horrific, the subsequent onslaught on Gaza "catastrophic and unjustifiable" and maintained artistic freedom should always be defended. But he also considers his shows to be havens from the world's troubles, particularly for families with young children who attend his concerts.

Sounds like a thoughtful person wrestling with an enormously complex issue, rather than reducing it to a neat slogan. But respect for audiences who pay to be entertained, not proselytised to, doesn't sit well with performers who view the stage as their pulpit.

Australians experienced this not long ago when three actors in a Sydney Theatre Company production appeared on stage wearing the entertainment industry's preferred fashion accessory, Palestinian keffiyehs, apparently in the misguided belief the audience had not paid to watch their play but to discover their opinions on Middle Eastern geopolitics.

This doesn't mean, of course, that artists should avoid political statements or remain silent in the face of atrocities. Art has always been political. From Orwell to Bob Dylan and Picasso to Spike Lee, injustice inspires memorable work exposing the absurdities and obscenities of the human condition.

But here's the........

© Canberra Times