American rapper Macklemore said Monday that he had been removed from the remaining US dates of Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour after making pro-Palestinian remarks during a September 4 concert at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Macklemore said on Instagram that he and Sheeran had held “some difficult conversations this past week.” Messina Touring Group, the promoter of the US leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, told Rolling Stone that venue owners had informed promoters they would not permit concerts with Macklemore in the lineup. “After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates,” the company said. Sheeran did not immediately comment.
During the New Jersey performance, Macklemore said he wanted to use the stadium shows to say “Free Palestine.” He said the message was intended to reach people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank and to signal that they had not been forgotten.
According to Macklemore, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft helped rally support among stadium owners and told Sheeran that some venues would not allow him to perform if he remained on the tour. Kraft said in a statement to US media that he devoted much of his time to opposing hate and antisemitism and felt responsible for speaking out when he believed that boundary had been crossed.
Macklemore has denied being antisemitic. He said that equating criticism of Israel’s actions with antisemitism can deflect attention from Israeli accountability. His position has included the 2024 release of “Hind’s Hall,” which the source describes as a protest song supporting pro-Palestinian demonstrators and commemorating Palestinian girl Hind Rajab.
Macklemore was scheduled to perform at eight of the 10 remaining shows, according to Variety, with the tour due to resume September 19 in Philadelphia. The Israeli-American Council had also started a petition calling for his removal.