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American rapper Macklemore lost his spot on British pop star Ed Sheeran’s US tour after speaking up for Palestinians, but in Malaysia it was Sheeran’s music which ended up being pulled from the airwaves.
In neighbouring Singapore, British band Massive Attack faced a different kind of fallout, barred from returning after members displayed a Palestinian flag during a July concert.
The contrasting cases highlight the competing pressures on foreign artists in Southeast Asia, where political expression can cross different red lines set by governments, promoters, venues and audiences, analysts and industry figures say.
In Malaysia, where public support for the Palestinian cause runs deep, promoters must still weigh an artist’s politics against commercial considerations and concert rules. Singapore, meanwhile, draws a sharper line between humanitarian expression and what it considers political advocacy.
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