{"id":896878,"date":"2026-09-18T19:28:33","date_gmt":"2026-09-18T19:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/896878\/"},"modified":"2026-09-18T19:28:33","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T19:28:33","slug":"ed-sheeran-macklemore-saga-all-the-actors-musicians-and-celebrities-taking-sides-including-boy-george-rodger-waters-hannah-einbinder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/896878\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran, Macklemore saga: All the actors, musicians and celebrities taking sides including Boy George, Rodger Waters, Hannah Einbinder."},"content":{"rendered":"

The fallout over Ed Sheeran dropping Macklemore<\/a> from his Loop Tour just keeps growing<\/a> and now musicians all over the world are taking sides<\/a>, from Australian singer Guy Sebastian, to musician Boy George. <\/p>\n

Some have criticised Sheeran for bending to the demands of billionaire stadium owners, others have sympathised with the singer for being put in \u201cimpossible situation\u201d. <\/p>\n

\"Boy<\/p>\n

Boy George fell for two internet hoaxes whilst defending Ed Sheeran. \u00a0AP Photo\/Richard Drew<\/p>\n

Pop icon Boy George \u2013 who has drawn media attention for backing Israel \u2013 recently came to Ed Sheeran\u2019s defence online, though his eagerness led him to fall for two separate internet hoaxes.<\/p>\n

First, George enthusiastically shared a spoof tweet claiming Israeli Eurovision winner Netta would join Sheeran\u2019s tour. <\/p>\n

Shortly after, he fell for recirculated 2022 footage presented as a current video of Sheeran playing solo following rumoured band and opener walkouts, posting praise for the singer\u2019s solo effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell done to @edsheeran for going on stage with his guitar and proving that he can perform solo,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

George then took aim at Paloma Faith over a recent TV interview about the conflict, mocking her statement that she whispers \u201cFree Palestine\u201d to her children at bedtime and labelling the media commentary around the issue increasingly foolish.<\/p>\n

Hacks star Hannah Einbinder lashed Sheeran in a fiery Instagram Story just hours after she attended the 2026 Emmys.<\/p>\n

\u201cEd Sheeran, I say this as a ginger. I hope you get a REALLY bad sunburn, the kind on the back of your entire body where it hurts to lie down or walk or sit,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

\"Hannah<\/p>\n

Hannah Einbinder is among the stars hitting out at Sheeran.\u00a0AP Photo\/Jordan Strauss<\/p>\n

Other stars including Lewis Hamilton, Zara Larsson, Greta Thunberg and Wicked actress Marissa Bode have also spoken up.<\/p>\n

While the backlash against Sheeran has been swift, several \u2013 including the supporting acts who withdrew from the Loop Tour in protest \u2013 stepped up to defend Sheeran personally.<\/p>\n

\u201cEd has been a friend to me and has changed my life,\u201d Aaron Rowe shared. <\/p>\n

While backing band Beoga added: \u201cWe have been friends with Ed for over 10 years now and will continue to be,\u201d stressing that their exit was aimed at venue owners and promoters rather than Sheeran himself.<\/p>\n

Not everyone is drawing the separation. Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters, 83, publicly lashed Sheeran in an Instagram video where he called the Shape Of You singer a \u201clittle prick\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just have a little message for [Sheeran],\u201d Waters said in the short clip, which opened on a red screen emblazoned with the words \u201cEd who?\u201c. <\/p>\n

\"Roger<\/p>\n

Roger Waters lashed Ed Sheeran over the scandal.\u00a0Rob Grabowski\/Invision\/AP<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are two kinds of people in this world. There\u2019s people who do the right thing, the rapper Macklemore would be one of those people.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there\u2019s people, many of them, sadly, little f\u2013 excuse me, I nearly used the F-word then \u2013 pricks like you who do the wrong thing. Goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n

Waters has been a vocal supporter of Palestine for nearly 20 years. <\/p>\n

Why Macklemore was kicked off Ed Sheeran\u2019s tour<\/p>\n

The saga started on September 5, when Macklemore called to \u201cFree Palestine\u201d on stage while opening for Sheeran in New Jersey, USA.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo all of my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, it in no way is criticism of you,\u201d he told the crowd.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis message is for peace, love, for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect and equality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Singer\/songwriter<\/p>\n

Ed Sheeran and Macklemore have both released statements about the saga.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, allegedly took issue with Macklemore\u2019s comments and started a pressure campaign to have him removed from the tour before Sheeran was scheduled to play at his venue.<\/p>\n

Macklemore was then kicked off the tour<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cEd told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium,\u201d the rapper said in a statement on September 15.<\/p>\n

\u201cEd also told me that Kraft had rallied<\/a> some of the other stadium owners and collectively gave him an ultimatum: \u2018If Macklemore stays on tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheeran released his own social media statement<\/a> the following day in which he claimed removing Macklemore from the tour was the promoter\u2019s decision, not his.<\/p>\n

\"Owner<\/p>\n

Owner of New England Patriots Robert Kraft allegedly pushed for Macklemore to get kicked off the tour.\u00a0Getty\/Jane Gershovich<\/p>\n

He said he had \u201cpersonal views on [the] devastating conflict\u201d in Palestine but that he chose not to share them publicly.<\/p>\n

Though PR experts told nine.com.au this neutral stance will help Sheeran weather the scandal<\/a>, a number of other artists and celebrities aren\u2019t happy with it.<\/p>\n

Celebrities weigh in on Sheeran\/Macklemore saga<\/p>\n

All of Sheeran\u2019s support acts dropped out<\/a> of his Loop Tour in solidarity with Macklemore after the rapper was removed.<\/p>\n

Finneas<\/a> (aka Billie Eillish<\/a>\u2019s brother), Danish pop band Lukas Graham and Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga stood with Macklemore, as have many other stars.<\/p>\n

\"Billie<\/p>\n

Finneas O\u2019Connell, Billie Eilish\u2019s brother, left the tour in solidarity.\u00a0Getty Images for The Recording A<\/p>\n

Myles Smith, who has already completed his run of shows as Sheeran\u2019s support act, spoke out in an Instagram post where he decried the bombing of Palestinians but said Sheeran was not the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s simple: Ed is not the victim here. Palestinians are. But let\u2019s not get confused: Ed is also not the perpetrator,\u201d he wrote. <\/p>\n

\u201cI need to be very clear about Ed. He is my friend\u2026 and there is no pressure, no trend, no headline and no comment section that will make me turn on him or hang him out to dry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guy Sebastian replied to the post, wrtiting: \u201cTHIS Is how you do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Guy<\/p>\n

Guy Sebastian has waded into the debate surrounding Ed Sheeran\u2019s Loop Tour\u00a0JENNIFER SOO<\/p>\n

Aussie radio personality Ash London wrote \u201cAmen\u201d to children\u2019s entertainer Ms Rachel, who labelled it \u201cracist\u201d to treat \u201csome children\u2019s lives as less worthy of outrage\u201d.<\/p>\n

All-female Irish folk band BIIRD took to social media to support Macklemore, while activist Greta Thunberg voiced her support in the rapper\u2019s comments section.<\/p>\n

Some stars have backed Sheeran, like Boy George and Pink, the latter of whom hit out at Macklemore and claimed he was spreading \u201canti-Israel propaganda\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

P!nk infamously attacked Macklemore over his comments.\u00a0Getty Images for dcp<\/p>\n

Controversial political figure Tommy Robinson also backed Sheeran, writing on X: \u201cI support@edsheeran, f–k Palestine. Barrassin [embarrassing] all I\u2019m seeing on socials from middle class brats who live in suburbia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The fallout over Ed Sheeran dropping Macklemore from his Loop Tour just keeps growing and now musicians all…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":896879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134],"class_list":["post-896878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=896878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/896878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/896879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=896878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=896878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=896878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}