Stormzy has denied that he “compromised beliefs for commercial gain”, after his advertising partnership with McDonald’s was criticised over the company’s ties to Israel.
In a new campaign, the rapper appears in filmed adverts and on billboards promoting the “Stormzy meal” featuring a selection of his favourite menu items.
After he posted the advert on Instagram, the comments were flooded with thousands of critical statements from supporters of Palestine.
In October 2023, there was a globally organised boycott against McDonald’s after its Israel franchise owner, Alonyal, gave free meals to Israeli military personnel fighting in Gaza. McDonald’s responded by saying it was “not funding or supporting any governments involved in this conflict, and any actions from our local development licensee business partners were made independently without McDonald’s consent or approval”.
Sales nonetheless dropped in Muslim-majority countries and McDonald’s bought back the franchises from Alonyal in April 2024, saying it was “committed to the Israeli market and to ensuring a positive employee and customer experience going forward”.
While the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement does not name McDonald’s as one of its central targets for consumer boycott, it continues to support the broader “organic boycott” movement against the company.
Stormzy is a vocal supporter of Palestine. In an Instagram post after the outbreak of the October 2023 conflict, he wrote: “Free Palestine … if there is ever a clear injustice in the world, no matter how big or small 100 times out of 100 I will be on the side of the oppressed.”
He also performed at a benefit concert for causes in Palestine and Sudan in January 2024.
The “Free Palestine” post is no longer visible on Instagram, and in his statement, published via his Instagram stories, Stormzy denied it was removed because of the criticism of his McDonald’s campaign.
“I didn’t archive the post where I came out in support of Palestine for any reason outside of me archiving loads of [Instagram] posts last year,” he said. “In that post, I spoke about #FreePalestine, oppression and injustice and my stance on this has not changed.”
He added: “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.”
Stormzy said he knew he had supporters “who are genuinely confused and hurt by what they think has happened … 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”.
The Guardian has contacted McDonald’s for comment.
Among those criticising Stormzy for his McDonald’s partnership was Jeremy Corbyn’s Peace & Justice Project, which said on its website that the campaign allowed McDonald’s “to culture-wash their reputation”.
Having announced festival shows in the summer, Stormzy is expected to release new music in the coming months: likely an album to follow his three previous chart-topping LPs. The most recent, This Is What I Mean, was released in November 2022.
Since then he has topped the singles chart with Backbone, a collaboration with Chase and Status, and released collaborative tracks with Fredo, Raye and AP Dhillon.
