Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour Over Free Palestine Comments

Macklemore has been dropped from the U.S. leg of Ed Sheeran’s tour following his free Palestine remarks during a concert.

A Messina Touring Group spokesperson told Rolling Stone on Monday, Sept. 14, that venues on the upcoming U.S. dates notified the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour that they would not allow a concert with Macklemore on the lineup.

The spokesperson added that this would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans, leading to the decision after discussions with stakeholders that Macklemore will not perform on the remaining support dates.

Billboard reached out to representatives for Macklemore and Sheeran for comment.

The change comes less than two weeks after the Thrift Shop artist sparked controversy on the opening night of his stint at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey by telling the crowd that he wanted to use the stadium to say free Palestine.

He stated that he wanted those words to be loud and clear so people from Gaza to the occupied West Bank know they are not forgotten.

Macklemore released the 2024 protest song Hind’s Hall, which he performed before Sheeran’s set at MetLife. On the track, he questions definitions of genocide, mentions the destruction of colleges and mosques in Gaza, and discusses people pushed into Rafah amid bombings while addressing antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and solidarity.

The Israeli-American Council published a petition to remove Macklemore from the U.S. leg following his remarks. Pink also reshared a post calling for the rapper to be removed from the tour and explained her position after receiving criticism.

Pink wrote that Macklemore stood before a stadium of families with violent war images on screens, dedicated a song to a movement, and stated that the situation did not concern Jewish people in the audience, adding that he did not have the right to decide that.

During his second night opening for Sheeran at MetLife, Macklemore stated that criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, and opposition to genocide are not criticisms of Jewish people.

He wrote on X a couple of days later that wanting all humans to be treated equally should never be controversial.

The next Loop Tour show takes place Saturday, Sept. 19, in Philadelphia, featuring co-openers Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe. Sheeran has U.S. dates scheduled through Nov. 7, followed by a Latin American run with Finneas opening through mid-December.