I’m sure Ed Sheeran has thought about that Anchorman meme quite a bit this week. You know the one, where Ron Burgandy is sitting back with a bottle of beer exclaiming, “boy that escalated quickly”. In true internet fashion, he’s not getting a break either. Nor should he. But a browser game called Super Macklemore 64 has appeared this week to poke fun at the tour controversy, and three of the five acts you rally in it are Irish.
What is Super Macklemore 64?
Super Macklemore 64 is a short browser game where you play as Macklemore, running around while a giant Ed Sheeran chases you and shouts lines about not being complicit and music being for escapism. Tiny versions of billionaire Robert Kraft scurry about trying to catch you too, and you can stomp them for points.
The aim is to find your solidarity crew, then perform a ritual at the stones. That summons a crowd chanting “Free Palestine”, and Ed wobbles and topples over. You get three lives, your score comes from speed and Kraft stomps minus any hits you take, and it runs on WASD with touch controls on mobile. Playing with a touchpad is though, so FYI for all you laptop players.
The Irish acts of Super Macklemore 64?
Irish artists have come to the fore this week. While Sheeran is openly proud of his Irish heritage, this week he arguably slotted in behind the infamous Conor McGregor of people we’re happy to leave off as “oh no, they’re 100% English”. Thankfully, we have some excellent examples of representing Ireland as we would want to be represented through Aaron Rowe, Beoga and Kneecap, making up the crew you rally, alongside Finneas and Lukas Graham.
Rowe, a Dublin singer, and Beoga, the Irish folk band who had been playing a mini set with Sheeran on the Loop Tour, both quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. Beoga captioned their announcement in Irish with “Saoirse don Phailistín”. Kneecap publicly posted their love and solidarity for Macklemore and have been long standing supporters of Palestine.
Rowe has also reached achieved social media virality for his video which went beyond the Sheeran tour collapse to take aim at the Irish Government and football team ahead of playing Israel in the Nations League.
What happened between Ed Sheeran and Macklemore?
Macklemore used his opening slot at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to say “Free Palestine” and perform his song Hind’s Hall. He also told Jewish fans that criticism of Israel is not criticism of them. A petition from the Israeli-American Council followed, and Macklemore then said he had been removed from the remaining US dates.
Kraft, whose group owns Gillette Stadium, has said he opposed Macklemore appearing there because of a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery, rather than because of his support for Palestinians. Sheeran says the call wasn’t his, and that it came from the tour promoter after pressure from venues. All of the remaining opening acts then walked, along with Beoga.
Sheeran had the star power to stand behind a friend of roughly ten years, and he didn’t and he has faced reputational collapse as a result. Don’t get me wrong, Kraft is the real rotten egg here, but they all deserve their fair share of critism.
Why is Ireland so annoyed at Ed Sheeran?
Because Sheeran has spent years leaning into Irishness. His father is from Belfast, he holds an Irish passport, and he told The Louis Theroux Podcast in 2025 that he identifies culturally as Irish.
So plenty of Irish public figures have been giving out about it. Labour TDs Alan Kelly and Ged Nash both criticised him, Classic Hits Radio pulled his music from its playlists, and RTÉ said its threshold for banning artists is very high and it would keep playing him, but whether any DJ would bother remains to be seen. Rowe said that as Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation. Israeli officials have denied genocide allegations.
Who made Super Macklemore 64?
Jonathan Mann, a songwriter who holds the Guinness World Record for most consecutive days writing a song and has been writing one a day since 2009. He isn’t a traditional game developer. He has used the online name GameJew since 2006, and he has been open about vibe coding his games with AI tools, having made a game a day for a month earlier this year.
So no, this isn’t an indie game coded with love and care. But I do love a topical gag built at speed. That said, the joke lands because it arrived while the row is still raw. Mann, speaking to Al Jazeera, said the situation is so absurd that the only way he can process it is by making something equally absurd, and that it’s really about the Palestinian people rather than Macklemore or Sheeran.
How to play Super Macklemore 64
You can play Super Macklemore 64 in your browser on desktop or mobile, and a run takes only a few minutes. Also I don’t believe Sheeran did that Netflix special in one shot any more.
