Support acts quit Ed Sheeran tour after Macklemore's removal over pro-Palestine remarks

Rapper Macklemore has been dropped from Ed Sheeran's US tour following pro-Palestinian comments he made on stage in early September, and his removal has now triggered a wave of withdrawals by other support acts. The artist, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, had been serving as the opening act for Sheeran's Loop tour but faced criticism from Jewish groups after declaring "Free Palestine" at two concerts and delivering political speeches during his performances. According to reports from September 14, 2026, the tour promoter Messina Touring Group stated that multiple venues on the remaining US dates would not permit Macklemore to perform, a situation that threatened to force cancellation of the entire tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.

Four support acts have now announced their departure from the tour in response to Macklemore's removal. Among them is Finneas, the brother of pop star Billie Eilish, who stated:

Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed.

Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, Danish band Lukas Graham, and Irish folk band Beoga, who perform during Sheeran's set, also announced they would not take part in the US dates.

What did Ed Sheeran say about the decision?

Ed Sheeran issued a statement on Tuesday distancing himself from the removal, emphasising that the decision was made by the tour promoter rather than by him personally.

Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter's decision, it was not mine,

Sheeran wrote on Instagram.

I 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.

Sheeran said he had spoken with the venues

at length all week to try and build a bridge

but that the promoters ultimately made the decision to remove Macklemore. In his statement, Sheeran acknowledged being

appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine

and noted that

the suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy.

However, he explained his decision to avoid public political statements, writing:

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.

Sheeran further elaborated on his approach to his platform:

There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics - my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum. I respect Macklemore's strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes. However, there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: Peace. I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed.

He added that

as with all my support acts,

Macklemore had been allowed to choose his own setlist.

How did the controversy begin?

The dispute originated on 4 September at Ed Sheeran's concert at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where Macklemore, a longtime pro-Palestine activist, addressed the crowd directly. He told the audience:

A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so that I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very, very dear to my heart: Free Palestine.

Following this declaration, Macklemore performed his song Hind's Hall, which criticises Israel's military operations in Gaza, while video footage depicting the destruction in Gaza played on the venue's large screens. The performance sparked immediate backlash from advocacy groups, with the campaign organisation StopAntisemitism releasing a statement accusing the rapper of ambushing Jewish fans with what they characterised as anti-Israel propaganda.

What happened at the second performance?

The following evening, Macklemore took the stage at the same venue and directly addressed his Jewish audience members. He stated:

Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, is in no way a criticism of you,

and expressed his desire for people in Gaza and the West Bank to understand they had not been forgotten by the international community.

Despite his attempt to clarify his position, the backlash intensified rather than subsided. The Israeli-American Council launched a petition urging Sheeran to remove Macklemore from the tour, arguing that the concert was not an appropriate venue for political activism. The council stated:

This was an Ed Sheeran concert - not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event,

and accused Macklemore of employing

biased messaging and disputed claims.

Who pressured venues to drop Macklemore?

According to Macklemore's statement, billionaire Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, organised the boycott. Kraft confirmed he had made the decision to bar Macklemore from his venue, saying it would not

provide a platform for hate speech,

and accused the rapper of

a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric.

Kraft stated:

I agree with Macklemore, too many lives have been lost and there has been too much suffering, but only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas is not honest and only advances more divisiveness and hate.

However, he did not address claims that he had asked other venues to put pressure on the tour.

Tour promoter Messina Touring Group told a music publication that it had been informed by venues that they would not allow Macklemore to perform,

which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.

Many of the support acts who withdrew cited Kraft's involvement as influencing their decision.

Why did support acts withdraw?

Lukas Graham stated:

Money doesn't give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody's bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we're allowed to acknowledge.

Aaron Rowe, who had opened on the Australian leg of the tour earlier in the year and resumed as a support act for the US dates in June, said he did not

take the decision [to quit] lightly,

adding:

Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life, I could never thank him enough for this.

Despite his gratitude to Sheeran, Rowe felt compelled to leave, stating:

We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up. Wherever they live. Whatever flag flies over them.

What is Israel's position on the allegations?

Israel rejects accusations of genocide and maintains that its military operations in Gaza and the occupied West Bank constitute legitimate self-defence conducted in accordance with international law. The Israeli military initiated its campaign in Gaza following an unprecedented Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.

According to the Gaza health ministry, which is run by Hamas and whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations, more than 73,780 people have been killed during Israel's military campaign in Gaza.

What did Macklemore say in response?

Macklemore confirmed his removal on Monday in a lengthy statement, standing by his remarks and asserting that the true victims are the Palestinian people in Gaza. In a nearly 1,000-word statement posted to Instagram, he revealed that after a week of what he described as difficult conversations with Sheeran, the two reached a fundamental disagreement that resulted in his removal from the tour lineup. He expressed empathy for the challenging position Sheeran faced but criticised the English singer for declining to take a public stance on the matter.

Macklemore wrote:

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.

Addressing accusations of antisemitism directly, Macklemore argued that

one of the most effective ways to enforce silence has been to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism.

He further contended that

When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying "Free Palestine" gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn't protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability.

Despite performing only two shows on the tour, Macklemore expressed satisfaction with the outcome, stating that if his words succeeded in

turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I've ever been on.

How was Pink drawn into the dispute?

US singer Pink, who is Jewish, became entangled in the controversy after reposting a message criticising Macklemore's conduct. Her involvement triggered substantial backlash, with critics directing attacks at various aspects of her public life, including her parenting approach and past comments regarding female artists such as Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera.

Pink subsequently released a lengthy statement clarifying that she does not speak on behalf of Israel or any government. She explained her criticism of Macklemore's onstage behaviour, writing:

Last weekend [Macklemore] stood in front of a stadium full of music-loving families, with violent images from a war on the screens, dedicated a song to the movement of his choice, and then took the mic to tell all of the Jews in the stadium that it wasn't about them. You don't get to decide that for us.

Pink also referenced Macklemore's 2014 Grammy Awards performance of his same-sex anthem Same Love, during which 33 LGBTQ+ couples were married on stage. However, she noted that later that same year, Macklemore apologised for wearing a costume that included a black wig, beard, and fake hooked nose, which critics characterised as antisemitic.

What happens next for the tour?

Ed Sheeran's Loop tour is scheduled to resume on 19 September 2026 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. According to reporting from Axios, Macklemore had been scheduled to perform at eight of the ten remaining shows on the tour. The complete replacement lineup for the remaining US dates had not been fully disclosed at the time of initial reporting, though the tour's official page now lists only Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe as support for the Philadelphia show, and does not list Macklemore.

The tour promoter's decision to remove Macklemore rather than risk venue cancellations underscores the significant pressure facing major concert tours when political controversies emerge. Multiple venues indicated they would not host the tour with Macklemore on the bill, forcing the promoter to choose between accommodating the opening act or preserving the tour's viability for the headliner and fans who had purchased tickets.

Key Facts

• Macklemore performed "Free Palestine" remarks at Ed Sheeran's MetLife Stadium concerts on 4 and 5 September 2026
• The tour promoter cited venue objections as the reason for Macklemore's removal, stating that cancellations would have affected hundreds of thousands of fans
• Four support acts—Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and Beoga—withdrew from the tour after Macklemore's removal was announced
• Ed Sheeran distanced himself from the decision, stating it was made by the promoter and venues, not by him
• Billionaire Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium, confirmed he organised the boycott, citing concerns about hate speech
• Macklemore has been a longtime pro-Palestine activist and performed his song Hind's Hall, which criticises Israel's military actions in Gaza
• The dispute highlights ongoing tensions between artistic expression and commercial considerations in the live music industry
• Ed Sheeran's tour was scheduled to resume on 19 September 2026 in Philadelphia with a replacement opening act to be determined