{"id":616350,"date":"2026-09-15T02:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T02:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/616350\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T02:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T02:02:10","slug":"macklemore-is-dropped-from-ed-sheerans-tour-over-pro-palestinian-comments-onstage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/616350\/","title":{"rendered":"Macklemore is dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour over pro-Palestinian comments onstage"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Macklemore<\/a> said Monday that he has been dropped from Ed Sheeran<\/a> \u2018s tour over pro-Palestinian comments made by the Grammy-winning rapper earlier this month onstage at New Jersey\u2019s MetLife Stadium. <\/p>\n

\"FILE<\/p>\n

FILE – Macklemore performs at Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater during the South by Southwest Music Festival, March 17, 2023, in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n

Jack Plunkett \/ AP<\/p>\n

Macklemore said on Instagram that several U.S. venues told the promoter they would prohibit him from performing as Sheeran\u2019s opening act for the Loop tour. <\/p>\n

As a result, he wrote, Sheeran\u2019s team decided to remove him from the tour. That\u2019s despite the fact that the rapper \u2014 best known for his breakout hit \u201cThrift Shop\u201d and the same-sex marriage anthem \u201cSame Love\u201d \u2014 has been making similar comments about the plight of Palestinians for years. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo why is it an issue now? Because I\u2019m sharing a stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stadiums in America,\u201d Macklemore wrote. \u201cAt a certain level of exposure, \u2018Free Palestine\u2019 becomes too much of a risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

A growing chorus<\/a> of organizations and experts<\/a> say Israel\u2019s wartime actions in Gaza<\/a> amount to genocide<\/a> \u2014 an accusation Israel vehemently rejects.<\/p>\n

Sheeran has not commented and representatives for the singer did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. <\/p>\n

The promoter, Messina Touring Group, confirmed in a statement to Rolling Stone that it had been notified by venues that \u201cthey 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.\u201d <\/p>\n

Among the venues is Gillette Stadium, home to the NFL\u2019s New England Patriots. Owner Robert Kraft said the decision to cancel Macklemore was a result of his recent comments \u201cand a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis 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,\u201d Kraft said in a statement Monday.<\/p>\n

Macklemore\u2019s advocacy \u201cshould not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas,\u201d Kraft said. <\/p>\n

The rapper, born Benjamin Hammond Haggerty in Washington state, exclaimed \u201cFree Palestine\u201d during the Sept. 5 date of the tour while introducing his protest song \u201cHind\u2019s Hall.\u201d Written following the 2024 campus protests in support of Palestinians, it\u2019s named for Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl<\/a> who was killed after Israeli forces fired on her family\u2019s car in Gaza City.<\/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 said during the New Jersey concert. \u201cThis message is for peace, love, for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.\u201d<\/p>\n

His comments drew criticism from fellow singer Pink, who herself then drew backlash. <\/p>\n

Macklemore said he holds no ill will toward Sheeran, who he considers a friend.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can\u2019t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened,\u201d Macklemore wrote. <\/p>\n

The Loop Tour is scheduled to appear in venues including Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia; Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis; Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina; AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NEW YORK (AP) \u2014 Macklemore said Monday that he has been dropped from Ed Sheeran \u2018s tour over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":616351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[146,85,46,278863],"class_list":["post-616350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-national-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/616350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/616351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=616350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=616350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}