Macklemore Removed From Ed Sheeran Tour Following Israel-Palestine Remarks

Macklemore has been dropped from Ed Sheeran's US stadium tour due to his onstage comments about Israel and Palestine.

In his two appearances opening for Sheeran at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium on Labor Day weekend, Macklemore used his platform to advocate for a free Palestine and perform "Hind's Hall," his 2024 song in support of student protestors at Columbia University. At the second MetLife show, he clarified, "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."

His remarks sparked a petition from the Israeli American Council demanding Sheeran drop Macklemore from the eight upcoming tour dates he's scheduled to open. The petition asserted that Macklemore's message "relies on selective imagery, biased messaging, and disputed claims presented to a massive audience as fact, without context or complexity." Macklemore also drew condemnation from his music industry peer Pink, who faced backlash for sharing a social media post critical of Macklemore and denying that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza.

Now, Macklemore has been removed from the remainder of the tour. Messina Touring Group, promoter of the US leg of Sheeran's Loop Tour, shared the following statement with Rolling Stone :

> 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 has been dropped from shows at the following venues: Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Neither Sheeran nor Macklemore has publicly commented on the decision yet.

_Originally reported by [Stereogum](https://stereogum.com/2511310/macklemore-dropped-from-ed-sheeran-tour-over-israel-comments/news/)._