Several artistes have withdrawn from Ed Sheeran’s US tour after rapper Macklemore was removed from the remaining dates following his pro-Palestinian comments during performances in New Jersey.
The controversy began after Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, announced on Monday that Macklemore would not perform at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts later this month.
Macklemore subsequently said he had also been dropped from the rest of Sheeran’s American tour.
On Tuesday, Finneas, the producer and brother of singer Billie Eilish, Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, Irish band Beoga and Danish group Lukas Graham all pulled out of their scheduled opening slots.
They cited support for Macklemore and the Palestinian people in their decisions.
“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote on Instagram, dropping out of the tour. “I stand with Palestine and its people.”
Macklemore has been an outspoken advocate for Palestinian rights since Israel’s military campaign in Gaza began following the October 7 attacks.
During his performance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month, he wore a black-and-white keffiyeh and told the audience, “A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place, was so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” according to video of the event.
He also said, “to all of my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you.”
Macklemore later announced that he had been removed from Sheeran’s remaining US dates, blaming Kraft for the decision.
He claimed Kraft had “rallied some of the other stadium owners” and given Sheeran an ultimatum: “if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”
Kraft confirmed that he had cancelled Macklemore’s performances at Gillette Stadium.
He said the decision followed Macklemore’s recent actions, remarks made during Sheeran’s New Jersey shows and what he described as a wider history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that had offended the Jewish community.
“Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line,” Kraft said.
“This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf,” he added.
“Too many lives have been lost and there has been too much suffering, but only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas is not honest and only advances more divisiveness and hate.”
Sheeran said the decision to remove Macklemore was made by the concert promoter after venues threatened to withdraw from hosting the shows if the rapper remained on the tour.
“After Macklemore’s performances at my New Jersey shows, venues on my upcoming tour dates communicated that they would pull the shows if he was still supporting,” he said on Instagram.
“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine.”
Macklemore had been scheduled to open for Sheeran at seven more US stadiums.
The National Coalition Against Censorship’s executive director, Lee Rowland, said privately owned stadium operators have the legal right to determine who performs at their venues, but argued that the episode could have wider implications for freedom of expression.
Rowland said the cancellation demonstrated “the immense power that money has over our public discourse” and warned that other artistes could become more cautious about expressing controversial views publicly.
Macklemore has regularly appeared at pro-Palestinian rallies since 2023 and released “Hind’s Hall” in 2024, a song named after a building occupied by Columbia University protesters and renamed in honour of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza.
Sheeran defended his decision not to publicly comment on the Israel-Palestine conflict, saying he has personal views but prefers not to express them publicly.
“I have my personal views on this devastating conflict,” he said. “Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
The developments have drawn reactions from several artistes and public figures, including Zara Larsson, PinkPantheress, US lawmakers Ilhan Omar and Pramila Jayapal, as well as children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel, who criticised Sheeran’s public neutrality over Gaza.
