{"id":603370,"date":"2026-09-17T16:08:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:08:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/603370\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T16:08:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:08:20","slug":"what-to-know-about-sheerans-tour-after-macklemore-support-artists-left","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/603370\/","title":{"rendered":"What to know about Sheeran’s tour after Macklemore, support artists left"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed Sheeran’s tour of North and South America has been roiled by the decision this week to drop Macklemore<\/a> as an opener because of the rapper’s onstage pro-Palestinian comments. Since then, all of Sheeran’s other supporting acts have dropped out<\/a>, including a group that plays with Sheeran during part of the show.<\/p>\n

Sheeran, who is scheduled to perform this weekend in Philadelphia, said the decision to cut Macklemore from the Loop Tour was the promoter’s, not his own. The \u201cThrift Shop\u201d rapper exclaimed \u201cFree Palestine\u201d during the September 5 date in New Jersey.<\/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

Macklemore has said his removal was the result of an effort led by Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots. His Kraft Group also owns Gillette Stadium, where the NFL team plays and where Sheeran is scheduled to perform later this month. Kraft’s involvement was implicitly cited in some of the statements from the supporting acts who left Sheeran’s tour Tuesday (local time), decrying the influence of money.<\/p>\n

Macklemore announced he would donate US$1 million from his net earnings from the tour to six organisations helping Palestinians, including the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. He challenged Kraft to match the donation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting,\u201d Macklemore wrote.<\/p>\n

Kraft said in an Instagram post shortly afterward that Sheeran contacted him before Macklemore put out his statement to ask for a US$2 million match to aid \u201cin the region”.<\/p>\n

\u201cEd now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges,\u201d Kraft wrote.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson confirmed that the billionaire will be donating the matching funds. His post didn\u2019t specify the benefactors of the donation and the spokesperson did not identify the recipients.<\/p>\n

Here’s where things stand with Sheeran’s tour.<\/p>\n

\"US<\/p>\n

US artist Finneas pulled out of opening for Sheeran’s South American shows. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga all quit<\/p>\n

The Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe were scheduled to replace Macklemore as the opening acts on Sheeran’s remaining US tour dates. Finneas, the American singer and close collaborator with sister Billie Eilish, was down to open for Sheeran on four of his South American dates. Beoga, an Irish folk band, had been performing with Sheeran for part of his set since his tour began in January in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\u201cArtists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,\u201d Finneas wrote.<\/p>\n

The announcements from each supporting act came roughly within an hour of each other. Earlier that day, Sheeran posted his own statement blaming the promoter for Macklemore’s removal and maintaining that he refused to be drawn into a public discussion about the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

Rowe and Beoga cited their country\u2019s history to explain their decision. \u201cWe are Irish people who understand colonialism. As founding members of the Irish Artists for Palestine movement, we are committed activists for justice and will continue to be,\u201d Beoga posted.<\/p>\n

Rowe called Sheeran a friend. \u201cBut as Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation,\u201d he wrote, adding that he couldn\u2019t \u201cstand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up\u201d.<\/p>\n

Lukas Graham also appeared to take a veiled shot at Kraft, writing: “Money doesn\u2019t give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody\u2019s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we\u2019re allowed to acknowledge”.<\/p>\n

Kraft said in a statement that the decision to cancel Macklemore was a result of the rapper’s recent comments \u201cand a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.\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.<\/p>\n

\"Sheeran<\/p>\n

Sheeran says the decision to cut Macklemore from his tour was not his. (Source: Getty)<\/p>\n

Sheeran hasn’t commented since the supporting acts dropped out<\/p>\n

After Macklemore issued a lengthy statement about being removed from the tour, Sheeran took to Instagram to lay out his side.<\/p>\n

\u201cMacklemore coming off tour was the promoter\u2019s decision, it was not mine,\u201d he wrote Tuesday. \u201cI would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheeran hasn’t posted since those supporting acts left the tour, and his representative didn’t respond to an emailed request for comment. The promoter, Messina Touring Group, also hasn’t responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n

Macklemore didn’t address the fallout, writing instead that he wanted to \u201cbring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people who are still being killed, still living under military occupation, and still fighting for their freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his statement, Sheeran said he was \u201cnot complicit\u201d and that he had his own views on the war in Gaza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics \u2014 my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my show do not expect a political forum,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

While Sheeran has not been as politically vocal as many fellow artists, he has expressed support for some causes in the past. He performed at the Concert for Ukraine in 2022, which raised money for Ukrainians affected by the Russian invasion, and collaborated with a Ukrainian band on a charity single. He has also campaigned against racism in the UK and criticised his country’s government for cutting arts funding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran’s tour of North and South America has been roiled by the decision this week to drop…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":603371,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[156,14849,157,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-603370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-entertainment","tag-israel-gaza-conflict","tag-music","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=603370"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/603370\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/603371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=603370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=603370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=603370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}