This story has been updated with the news that Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe, and Beoga have all dropped out of their opening slots on Sheeran’s tour.
On September 14, Macklemore was dropped from the opening slot on Ed Sheeran’s ongoing stadium tour over onstage remarks the rapper made, including calling for a “free Palestine.” Macklemore subsequently released a statement in which he blamed both Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft and Sheeran himself for booting him from the tour. Now, Sheeran has responded with a statement of his own, posted to his Instagram account.
“Macklemore asked to join my tour last year and I agreed, because I respect him as an artist,” Sheeran wrote. “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. I was informed that this stance was based on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance, rather than on everything that was said.” He described speaking with Kraft directly, but asserted that “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine.”
Sheeran also addressed his own commitment to political neutrality: “I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. 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.” He cited the presence of “young people, often children” at his concerts as part of his rationale. “I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary,” Sheeran added, “to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed. If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change.”
The statement concludes, “I have spent this week trying to build bridges, to find a solution and unfortunately, was unable to do so. I know who I am, both as a person and as an artist, and those who know my heart know my values too.” Read it in full below.
All four of Sheeran’s remaining support acts—Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe, and Beoga—have now pulled out of their opening slots. “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas posted on Instagram. In his own statement, Rowe wrote, “[As] Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine, and violent occupation. I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and the savage murder of children. I would lose all respect for myself to carry on as normal.”
Macklemore has publicly opposed Israel’s war in Gaza for years. During his opening sets for Sheeran, he had been showing footage of the destruction in Gaza and performing “Hind’s Hall,” his song named for Hind Rajab, a six-year-old killed by Israeli military. “So why is it an issue now?”, he wrote yesterday. “Because now I’m sharing a stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stadiums in America. At a certain level of exposure, ‘Free Palestine’ becomes too much of a risk.”
Both Kraft and Messina Touring Group also issued statements on Macklemore’s removal from the tour. The concert promoter, a subsidiary of AEG, confirmed that multiple venues had joined Kraft’s Gillette Stadium in opposing the rapper’s presence on the bill. In his post, Macklemore accused Kraft of rallying the owners of those venues to follow his lead.