Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour

American rapper Macklemore was dropped from the remaining dates he was scheduled to open for Ed Sheeran on the US leg of the singer’s Loop Tour, following an overtly pro-Palestinian performance at MetLife Stadium that alienated many Jewish concertgoers, the tour’s promoter said Monday.

Hours after his removal was announced, Macklemore released a statement on Instagram, writing that Sheeran and his team had made the decision to drop him, and alleging that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft had pressured the British singer and rallied other stadium owners against allowing Macklemore to perform at their venues.

Kraft later confirmed his role in the decision by Sheeran, taking credit for Macklemore’s removal.

Messina Touring Group, which promotes the US leg of Sheeran’s tour, told Rolling Stone in a statement that venues hosting upcoming dates had told the company they would not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.

“As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s US Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming US tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans,” the company said.

“After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”

Macklemore had been scheduled to open for Sheeran at eight of the 10 remaining shows on the US stadium tour, which is set to resume in Philadelphia on September 19.

In the lengthy Instagram post, Macklemore said he wanted to “speak from the heart and share the truth,” writing: “Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.”

He stressed, however, that he did not consider himself, Sheeran, or singer Pink, who criticized his performance and received backlash last week, victims of the controversy, noting their wealth, careers, and security, and saying the focus should instead remain on Palestinians suffering in Gaza.

“I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim,” he wrote. “Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.”

Macklemore said he and Sheeran had been friends for 13 years and that he considered the English singer “a brother,” but said they had held several difficult conversations over the previous week that ended in “fundamental disagreement.”

According to Macklemore, Sheeran told him the previous Monday that Kraft had called him about Macklemore’s scheduled appearance at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, which is owned by the Kraft Group.

“Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium,” Macklemore wrote. He alleged that Sheeran also told him Kraft “had rallied some of the other stadium owners” and that they collectively issued an ultimatum: “if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”

Kraft is a prominent supporter of Israel and Jewish causes and has donated millions of dollars to them over the years, and in recent years, has become a powerful voice against antisemitism.

“Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech,” Kraft said in a Monday statement confirming his involvement in the decision to drop Macklemore from Sheeran’s set.

“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,” the statement continued.

“This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf. Their pain and loss are real,” the sports and private-equity mogul, who also owns the New England Patriots, said in his statement. “But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community.”

Kraft added that he has “created athletic and entrepreneurial opportunities for Palestinians who I admire and respect,” adding, “Standing with the Palestinian people and standing against Hamas, antisemitism and hate should not be mutually exclusive.”

He ended by extending a hand to Macklemore: “I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same – peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate.”

Macklemore described Sheeran as being placed in a difficult position by the dispute. According to the rapper, Sheeran told him that the words, “Free Palestine,” and images of the Palestinian flag had been “hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with.”

Macklemore said he rejected that reasoning and characterized Sheeran’s public position as: “I don’t take sides.”

“Taking a side can cost you,” Macklemore wrote, listing money, sponsorships, performances, and professional relationships. “But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed.”

In the post, Macklemore also addressed accusations of antisemitism surrounding his activism, writing that “antisemitism is real,” but arguing that the term should not be used to shield Israel from criticism.

He said that conflating criticism of Israel, opposition to Zionism, or calls for a “Free Palestine” with hatred of Jews did not protect Jewish people, but rather, in his view, protected Israel “from accountability.”

Despite the dispute, Macklemore said he hoped it would not end his relationship with Sheeran.

“Thirteen years of friendship doesn’t disappear because of one painful disagreement,” he wrote, adding that his “door will always be open” to continuing their conversation.

Macklemore closed his Instagram statement by saying he did not regret using the two MetLife appearances to promote his message.

“I didn’t need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2,” he wrote. “Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say.”

“Free Palestine.”

“But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”

The Israeli-American Council (IAC), which launched a petition on September 7 calling for Macklemore’s removal from the tour, welcomed Monday’s decision. The group said the petition had gathered tens of thousands of signatures and generated millions of social media impressions.

“The Israeli-American community has proven that when it stands united — its voice is heard,” the group said. “Freedom of speech is not freedom from responsibility.”

“Music unites. Propaganda divides,” it added.

The controversy erupted after Macklemore’s opening set for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, when the rapper called for a “Free Palestine” from the stage and in a speech told the crowd that part of his reason for joining the tour was to repeat that message before large audiences across the US. He also addressed Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, saying they had not been forgotten.

He then performed “Hind’s Hall,” his anti-Israel protest song, as footage from Gaza, images of Israeli soldiers, and pro-Palestinian messages appeared on screens behind him.

Social media footage appeared to show Macklemore repeating the song and pro-Palestinian remarks at the second MetLife show the following night.

Several Israeli concertgoers told Hebrew-language media they felt blindsided and distressed by the performance. One attendee told Channel 12 that two 16-year-old Jewish girls nearby left the concert crying, while other Israelis told the Ynet news site that some members of their group departed before Sheeran took the stage.

“Hind’s Hall,” released in 2024 during widespread pro-Palestinian demonstrations on US university campuses, was named after Hamilton Hall at Columbia University, which protesters occupied and symbolically renamed for Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza. The song accuses Israel of genocide and apartheid, criticises Zionism and rejects the argument that anti-Zionism amounts to antisemitism.

Israel vehemently rejects accusations that it has committed genocide in Gaza.

Jewish American pop star Pink also weighed in on the controversy last week, saying that “standing up for my own people” had proved even lonelier than she expected after facing backlash for reposting an Instagram Story criticising the performance.

She stressed that she did not object to Macklemore saying “Free Palestine” and did not want him silenced or fired, but said Jewish concertgoers should be able to say they felt frightened or targeted without having their concerns dismissed.

Sheeran and Kraft had not publicly responded to Macklemore’s account as of Monday.