American rapper Macklemore has been dropped from the remaining shows on Ed Sheeran’s US tour after several sports venues objected to his participation over his support for Palestinians and criticism of Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip. Messina Touring Group, which is organising the US leg of The Loop tour, confirmed that Macklemore would not appear at upcoming dates.
Sports venues threaten to cancel the rest of the tour
The company said several venues had told it they would not host the shows if he remained on the lineup, which would have threatened to cancel the rest of the tour and affect hundreds of thousands of fans. Macklemore, 43, had been scheduled to appear at 8 of the 10 remaining shows.
Macklemore voices support for Palestinians on stage
During his appearance, he expressed solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and repeated the slogan “Free Palestine”. He also performed his protest song “Hind’s Hall”, released in 2024 in support of pro-Palestinian student protests. After the two shows, the Israeli-American Council launched a petition calling for him to be removed from the remaining tour dates. His remarks were also criticised by artists and media figures, including American singer Pink.
Macklemore responded by posting a video recording of his speech, saying that calling for people to be treated equally should not be controversial. In a personal statement, Macklemore said Ed Sheeran had told him by phone about the decision to remove him after pressure from the owners of several stadiums.
Account of pressure and no confirmation from Ed Sheeran
He claimed that Gillette Stadium owner and American businessman Robert Kraft had told Sheeran’s team that he would not allow Macklemore to perform, then rallied other venue owners to force Sheeran to choose between dropping him or losing the shows. Neither Kraft nor Sheeran had publicly commented to confirm the account by the time the reports were published. The organising company’s statement only confirmed the venues’ objections and warned of the impact of Macklemore’s continued participation on staging the rest of the tour.
Macklemore described his call with Sheeran as a difficult conversation between two friends whose relationship spans about 13 years. He said their disagreement centred on political neutrality, explaining that Sheeran insists on staying out of politics and not taking sides, while he believes neutrality is impossible on the Palestinian issue.
The rapper said he did not consider himself, Sheeran or Pink victims, but regarded Palestinians as victims of the war. He also accused some people within the entertainment industry of using accusations of antisemitism to silence critics of the Israeli government’s policies, while stressing the need to confront hatred against Jews and not conflate it with criticism of Israel.
Since releasing “Hind’s Hall” in 2024, Macklemore has repeatedly declared his support for Palestinians despite the criticism and professional losses he said had resulted from it.
He said he had no intention of backing down, while Ed Sheeran’s US tour is expected to resume on 19 September at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia without Macklemore.
