Mamamia bills itself as the podcast destination for 'what women are talking about' - but loyal listeners and subscribers say a debate on flagship show Out Loud about the Ed Sheeran tour controversy missed the mark.
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debate → bill → mark
Now, a company insider has alleged that the latest storm is yet another example of what happens when founder Mia Freedman becomes too involved in the content.
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Freedman → allege → content
The drama started on Wednesday when hosts Freedman, Jessie Stephens and Holly Wainwright discussed the headlines surrounding Sheeran's US Loop tour, which saw support act Macklemore removed after pressure over his pro-Palestine speeches.
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Macklemore → start → speeches
Sheeran has personally borne much of the backlash, despite saying the decision to remove the rapper was made by tour promoters and venues, not him.
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decision → bear → him
Since his tearful on-stage apology, there has been a broader cultural conversation about the ethics of 'fence-sitting' on issues like the catastrophe in Gaza, with some arguing Sheeran should have backed Macklemore.
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Sheeran → argue → Macklemore
On the other side of the argument are people who believe pop concerts are not the place for political rhetoric.
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concerts → believe → rhetoric
The tour row began when Macklemore took the stage before Sheeran in New Jersey on September 4 and performed the song Hind's Hall, which he said was in honour of six-year-old Hind Rajab who was killed in Gaza.
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who → begin → Gaza
At the end of the performance, Macklemore declared 'free Palestine' and called for peace, while clarifying the statement wasn't an attack on 'Jewish brothers and sisters' but a criticism of the violence inflicted by the Israeli government.
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statement → declare → government
The situation escalated when Jewish-American billionaire and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft told Sheeran he would not be permitted to perform in his stadium if accompanied by Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty.
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name → escalate → Macklemore
Mia Freedman (left), Jessie Stephens (centre) and Holly Wainwright (right) discussed Macklemore being booted as an opener for Ed Sheeran's tour after his 'free Palestine' speech
Listeners slammed Freedman for talking about 'her personal feelings' rather than the big issue
Sheeran gave a speech about the saga (above) when he appeared on stage alone last Saturday, after his band and other support acts walked out in solidarity with Macklemore
Macklemore confirmed he'd been dropped by tour managers, which triggered other support acts and a wave of Sheeran's staff - including his backing band - to walk out in solidarity, with the English musician performing alone in Philadelphia last Saturday.
The issue was one of several topics discussed on Out Loud this week, but listeners have since taken to social media to complain the episode largely featured Freedman discussing how she would have felt 'scared' listening to Macklemore's speech and glossed over the bigger issue of the conflict and the plight of civilians caught in it.
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she → discuss → it
Fans also pointed out the comments had been switched off across social media posts about the episode when they weren't all largely positive, accusing Mamamia of censorship, with many declaring they would unsubscribe from the website's paid tier.
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they → point → tier
On the episode, Freedman, who is Jewish, said Macklemore's statement would have frightened her and she would have 'immediately' left had she been in the audience.
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she → say → audience
'I wear a Star of David around my neck and that speaks to my Jewish faith.
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that → wear → faith
Some people will see that and think Israel and children being killed,' she said.
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she → see → that
'Macklemore says, "To my Jewish brothers and sisters," and of course it's good he said that, but when someone's cheering or chanting "free Palestine" or cheering for him, you don't know what they think.
'
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they → say → what
Down the road from where I live, on Bondi Beach, 15 people were murdered because they were at a Jewish festival with a petting zoo.
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they → live → zoo
I think it's naive to think that just because you put a disclaimer in, you're not making people feel threatened and scared.'
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people → think → disclaimer
Macklemore (above) was removed from the Sheeran tour by managers when a US stadium owner said he would be banned from his venues after his September 4 speech about Palestine
Out Loud podcast listeners complained they were censored from the comments or blocked.
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they → remove → comments
One Reddit user said: 'I commented on a post in the Facebook group agreeing [with] how disappointing it was and that I would be unsubscribing.
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I → say → was
Ten minutes later, I think I've been booted from the group because I can no longer search for it'
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I → think → it
One 'deeply disappointed' long-time listener said they would be unsubscribing
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they → say → ?
In response to one commenter on the OutLouders Facebook group, a member said they had 'recently unsubscribed too'
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they → say → group
Freedman (left) talked about how she would have felt being in the audience as a Jewish woman, while Stephens and Wainwright questioned whether celebrities should be political
Freedman also took aim at a video played during Hind's Hall, which showed violence in Gaza, as potentially inciting hatred against Jewish people.
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which → talk → people
Stephens and Wainwright mainly focused their takes on whether it was right to expect predominantly apolitical musicians like Sheeran to weigh in on debates, or for artists to face censorship.
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artists → focus → censorship
Stephens said of Sheeran's statement before his concert last Saturday: 'I thought, "How did we get to a point where we have 35-year-old Ed who likes to sing cute songs on his guitar, standing in a stadium commenting on a geopolitical conflict?"
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who → say → conflict
Wainwright later added: 'I think we're inching towards a world where artists will have to agree that, if they're going to perform in certain spaces, they are not going to say anything political.
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they → add → anything
Personally, I think that's sad.'
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that → think → ?
The hosts disagreed over who triggered the tour controversy.
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who → disagree → controversy
Freedman said it was Macklemore with his speech.
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it → say → speech
Stephens said it was stadium owner Kraft for issuing an ultimatum to Sheeran.
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it → say → Sheeran
They did not scratch the surface of any debate on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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They → scratch → Gaza
Hundreds of listeners and viewers disagreed with the hosts' views, particularly Freedman's focus on her own reaction rather than the broader issue.
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Hundreds → disagree → issue
Comments under posts of the segment had all been turned off by Thursday.
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Comments → turn → Thursday
'I normally really like Mia Freedman and enjoy hearing her perspective but I have to say I was 100 per cent with Jessie on today's episode,' one wrote online.
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one → like → episode
'When Mia said Jewish people in the stadium could potentially be offended by videos of Palestine, I thought, "Why is it automatically assumed that supporting an end to war would be offensive to Jewish people?"
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supporting → say → people
'What about how a Palestinian person in that audience might feel seeing an artist use their platform to speak about peace and an end to the war?'
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artist → feel → war
Listeners seemed offended that Freedman appeared to side against Macklemore
Comments were initially left open on Spotify (left), including one listener declaring their intention to cancel their subscription.
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Comments → seem → subscription
The comments were later turned off (right)
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comments → turn → ?
Macklemore has said: 'I hope this isn't the end of my relationship with Ed.
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this → say → Ed
Thirteen years of friendship doesn't disappear because of one painful disagreement' (pictured in 2014)
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years → disappear → 2014
…and 18 more, not listed.
The Aporia
