Stormzy has responded after facing social media backlash after pro-Palestine tweets appeared to be deleted amid his new collaboration with McDonalds.
The rapper, 31, was at the centre of controversy after unveiling his new limited edition McDonald’s meal “The Stormzy Meal”.
He has hit out at the “twisted narrative” that has been created online, insisting that his stance on Palestine has not changed at all.
The company has been the subject of boycotts from Pro-Palestine campaigners after McDonald’s in Israel gave out thousands of free meals to Israeli forces and citizens following Hamas’ attack on Israel on 7 October.
McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski has previously denied it has taken a political stance, calling the boycotts “disheartening and ill-founded” and blaming it on “misinformation”.
However, it was the apparent removal of Stormzy’s pro-Palestine posts that caused the most outrage.
“I can’t lie, it’s deleting the post that says Free Palestine that makes the McDonalds deal far worse,” wrote one person. “You can argue the deal but deleting the very smallest bit of advocacy you did is nasty work. Stormzy did not need to do that.”
The Peace and Justice project, founded by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who Stormzy has regularly championed, also urged the rapper to drop the collaboration in solidarity with the cause.
“Hey guys, I wanted to address some twisted narrative that has been circulating online this past week,” the rapper wrote in a post addressing the accusations on Instagram on Friday (21 February).
“Firstly, I didn’t archive the post where I came out in support of Palestine for any reason outside of me archiving loads of IG posts last year.
“In that post, I spoke about #FreePalestine, oppression and injustice and my stance on this has not changed.
“The brands I work with can’t tell me what to do and don’t tell me what to do otherwise I wouldn’t work with them.
“I do my own research on all brands I work with, gather my own information, form my own opinion and come to my own conclusion before doing business.
“I’m writing this because I know there are people out there who have supported me and rooted for me who are genuinely confused and hurt by what they think has happened and I want to give those people clarity so I hope this helps.
“I understand it must feel disappointing and disheartening when it seems like someone you’ve championed has compromised their beliefs for commercial gain but this isn’t the case here.
“Social media and the internet quickly pass judgment without full context. While I want to continue to be open and honest, I prefer not to respond immediately to every misunderstanding or clear up every false narrative that surrounds my name.”
