Ed Sheeran built his entire brand on being the nice, apolitical guy with an acoustic guitar, the last person you’d expect to end up in the middle of a geopolitical firestorm. And yet here we are.
In the space of about 48 hours, his stadium tour went from a straightforward victory lap through North America to a full-blown crisis, complete with a dropped opening act, an exodus of every remaining support act, and a very public, very fast bleed of Instagram followers.
The spark was Macklemore, Sheeran’s own hand-picked opener, using his stage time to talk about Gaza.
What followed was a chain reaction involving a billionaire, an artist trying to stay neutral in the middle of a catastrophe, and a fanbase split right down the middle over what a concert is actually supposed to be for.
The Chronology: How It Started With Macklemore
The chronology matters here, because each step set up the next. It began with rapper Macklemore, aka Ben Haggerty, joining Ed Sheeran’s stadium run, the Loop Tour.
He was booked as a supporting act for all 10 shows on the US leg. His first two appearances came on September 4 and 5 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
On September 4, Macklemore made the now-viral speech, voicing his support for Palestine and shouting, ‘Free Palestine.’
Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial. pic.twitter.com/BOJ9xMoIZn
— Macklemore (@macklemore) September 7, 2026
He said, “I’ve been trying to figure out a way to say this all day. One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine.
I said, Free Palestine. I want those words to be loud and clear, so the people from Gaza, all the way to the occupied West Bank, know that we have not forgotten them.
And this next song was inspired by the bravery of Columbia University students who led an encampment movement that mobilised the entire world; open up hearts, myself included, so thank you to those students that risked their diplomas, that risked their tuition, that risked their scholarships, that stood up and said, no. CUAD students, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voices for Peace. Thank you, guys.”
He then performed his protest song “Hind’s Hall,” which he’d released in 2024 in support of the pro-Palestinian student movement at Columbia University. The movement saw students occupy the university’s Hamilton Hall and rename it ‘Hind’s Hall’ after Hind Rajab, the six-year-old killed by the Israeli military.
He also had footage from Gaza playing on the stadium screens behind him, showing the destruction and devastation brought about by the genocide.
At the second show, he made a point of directly addressing Jewish fans in the crowd, saying that criticising Israel or opposing what he called apartheid was not the same thing as criticising them personally, and that his message was ultimately one of peace and equal dignity for all people.
He said, “To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.
So I say Free Palestine, I say Free Lebanon, I say Free Cuba, I say Free Congo, Free Sudan, I say Free all people in America living in fear of this terrorist organisation, ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.”
This, of course, had several pro-Israel groups up in arms, with many claiming that the rapper was promoting antisemitism and “anti-Israel propaganda” as per advocacy group StopAntisemitism.
The Israeli-American Council also launched a petition demanding Sheeran remove Macklemore from his tour, questioning “where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda.”
Pop singer Pink also weighed in, saying, “I have never asked for another artist to be silenced, and I’m not asking now. I don’t need anyone fired, and I don’t need a refund. What I need is to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, ‘that scared me, and it scared people I love,’ without being told our fear is just propaganda, and without being told I’m somehow cool with genocide because I noticed?”
Read More: US Violent Crackdown On Pro-Palestine Protesters While Hypocritical Gyaan To India On Democracy
Who Pushed To Drop Macklemore, And Why?
Macklemore was scheduled to appear at the September 19 concert in Philadelphia, but that changed when news broke that he had been removed from the tour.
On September 14, Messina Touring Group, the promoter behind the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s tour, in an exclusive statement given to Rolling Stone, said, “As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they 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. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
Macklemore confirmed this in an Instagram post, writing, “I’m not sure how to start this. So I’m going to speak from the heart and share the truth. Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.”
View this post on Instagram
He opened by reminding everyone that the true victims remain the Palestinian people who continue to be killed in the ongoing genocide. He also stressed his 13-year friendship with Sheeran, but said he could not ignore his responsibility to the truth.
Macklemore wrote, “Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”
He added, “Ed was in a f—d up position. He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words “Free Palestine” and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with. I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn’t get past his public-facing, “I don’t take sides.”
“And I get why people don’t. Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I’ve lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn’t leave you in the middle.”
But he also questioned why his comments were getting such a backlash now, writing, “What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now? Because now I’m sharing the stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stages in America.”
He also argued that accusations of antisemitism were being “used as a shield against criticism of the Israeli state” and that this doesn’t “protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability.”
He concluded his statement saying, “I didn’t need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say.”
The man reportedly behind Macklemore’s removal is billionaire businessman Robert ‘Bob’ Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
Kraft, in his own statement, said the decision came down to Macklemore’s “recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.”
Patriots owner Bob Kraft has released a statement addressing his decision to block Macklemore from performing with Ed Sheeran at Gillette Stadium, a move that ultimately led Sheeran to drop Macklemore from his tour. pic.twitter.com/ubNQ6Ovyhe
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) September 14, 2026
While Kraft did not address the claim of whether he “rallied” other stadium owners as well, several other venues also began to object to the rapper’s participation, including Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta; 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.
Critics were quick to note that the Tampa venue hosted two Kanye West concerts in June 2026, despite his long record of publicly antisemitic statements.
The Fallout
What has kept this controversy alive is that it did not stop there. Kraft’s decision, the backing he got from other venues, and Sheeran’s willingness to go along with it set off a chain reaction that has left a lot of people furious on several fronts.
Free speech is one. So is the concern that accusations of antisemitism are being misused. And then there is the question of what artists as big as Sheeran owe a moment like this, and whether staying ‘neutral’ is ever really neutral.
Sheeran has been hit hardest by the backlash. Within roughly 11 hours of the news breaking that Macklemore had been dropped, tracking accounts reported he had lost close to 100,000 Instagram followers.
His comments section was also flooded by users writing “Free Palestine” and accusing him of failing to take a stand. If a dip in his follower count had been the end of it, this might have blown over.
Instead, the rest of the tour’s supporting and opening acts began pulling out in solidarity with Macklemore.
Irish singer Aaron Rowe was first, saying in his announcement that as an Irish person he understood all too well what genocide, forced famine and violent occupation look like.
He was quickly followed by Danish group Lukas Graham, Irish folk band Beoga, and Finneas, the producer and musician best known as Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator, who was booked to join Sheeran’s South American dates later in the year.
Finneas, in his statement, wrote, “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”
Ed Sheeran tried to defend himself against the backlash, writing in a statement posted to Instagram that “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision; it was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me.”
He added, “I am not complicit. I have my personal views on the 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.”
However, even this statement rubbed people the wrong way, particularly the line, “I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy. There are too many wars across the world causing immeasurable pain, none of which should be tolerated.”
View this post on Instagram
He also removed comments from this particular post.
Many read it as an incredibly weak statement, one that framed Palestine as an equal party in the conflict rather than as the target of a one-sided genocide. Others argued that silence in the face of such injustice amounts to siding with the oppressor.
User SpicyAfrican on Reddit commented, “It says nothing. He’s blocked comments. This statement just makes it clear how cowardly he is. He was never one of my favourites, but this is so disappointing and pathetic. “Wasn’t me, it was the promoter”. “Macklemore was a touch too rude, not my fault”. 10s of thousands of kids have been killed by Israel; this isn’t the time for both sides.
Any innocent Israelis killed is a tragedy, but the IDF are not innocent, and they’re antagonising, murdering and raping Palestinians while Netanyahu and his evil cronies bulldoze Palestinian land to make more illegal settlements. This is an extremely poor attempt to save face. He even starts by saying Macklemore asked him to be a support.
Even if he did, this is just pathetic to humiliate him in that way. Ed didn’t even acknowledge their friendship like Macklemore did in his statement. Ed’s a two-faced f—. “Oh, I moved away from LA because everyone’s fake”, and then a few years later he moved back. He follows the money. F— Ed Sheeran forever. Long live Palestine.”
Music journalist Jeffrey Ingold called Sheeran’s decision to drop Macklemore “cowardice”.
Ingold, speaking with BBC Radio 5 Live, said, “He is one of the biggest musicians in the world. He has power and he has leverage. And he has essentially washed his hands and said, this is not my responsibility.
He had options, right? He could have said to the promoters and the owners of the venues, including Robert Kraft, ‘You know what, we’re not going to do the shows there. If you’re not going to let us all perform, we’re not going to do it’. He could have found alternate venues.”
The tour itself has taken a financial hit, with reports of thousands of tickets still sitting unsold or being relisted for upcoming stops. Ticketmaster, the official booking partner for the tour, is showing thousands of available seats for the remaining dates, especially the controversial Massachusetts show.
That is a sharp contrast to his Mathematics Tour, which sold out venue after venue and ranked among the most-attended tours of all time.
According to a Rolling Stone report, tickets for the Tampa show start at $87. It is the resale market that has surprised people, with many listings going for well below face value.
The report states, “Tickets to the Gillette Stadium shows start at just $78 on SeatGeek, a 30% discount. Stubs to Sheeran’s Indianapolis date on Oct. 10, meantime, start at just $66 on SeatGeek.com.”
Some fans are also demanding refunds on their tickets. One user posted, “Hey @Ticketmaster, so @edsheeran is no longer having @macklemore on his tour we purchased these tickets when @macklemore was on the setlist, and we would like to cancel our tickets for a full refund, please, and you can sell them to someone else! Thanks :)”
Another wrote on X/Twitter, asking Ticketmaster, “[…] Are you also offering refunds for people who don’t want to go to a concert where an artist was kicked off a tour for speaking their mind? Because it’s only fair. But my guess is that you’re not gonna do that, huh?”
Meanwhile, the outpouring of support for Macklemore has pushed seven of his songs onto the US Top Songs chart on iTunes, with “HIND’S HALL” climbing to No. 10.
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Rolling Stone, Hindustan Times, The Guardian
Find the blogger: @chirali_08
This post is tagged under: Ed Sheeran, Ed Sheeran tour, Ed Sheeran controversy, Macklemore, Macklemore palestine, Macklemore Palestine support, Macklemore Ed Sheeran, Ed Sheeran opening act, Palestine, Free Palestine
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