Ed Sheeran: Supporting acts withdraw from tour after Macklemore dropped from lineup

The remaining supporting acts for Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour announced on Tuesday that they will withdraw to show solidarity with Macklemore, who was banned from the concert lineup for pro-Palestine comments the rapper made during a concert earlier this month.

The announcement comes after Sheeran, a four-time Grammy Award winner, said in a statement on Instagram that the decision to bar Macklemore rested with the tour’s promoters, Messina Touring Group, after pressure from the venues headed by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. Sheeran added that he did not want to use his “professional platform for politics.”

The three remaining opening acts -- producer Finneas, Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe and Danish pop singer Lukas Graham -- wrote on social media on Tuesday that they stood with Macklemore and would not participate in the rest of the tour, which resumes Friday in Philadelphia, The Washington Post reported. Beoga, a traditional Irish group that was acting as Sheeran’s backup band for several songs, also decided to exit the tour, according to the newspaper.

Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, was slated to appear at eight of the remaining 10 shows on the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s tour, Rolling Stone reported.

Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in addition to the Patriots, cited Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” comments on Sept. 4 during the tour’s stop at MetLife Stadium in metropolitan New York as the reason for the ban, The Athletic reported.

The venues that supported Kraft included 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.

Finneas, a producer and musical collaborator with his sister, Billie Eilish, said he will also not tour with Sheeran in the South American portion of the tour that begins in November, Rolling Stone reported.

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote on Instagram. “I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”

On Instagram, Graham called his decision difficult, but “it’s one I need to stand by.”

“It’s hard to watch families in other parts of the world burying the people they love. 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,” Graham wrote. “I love Ed, and I’m grateful for everything we’ve shared. That hasn’t changed. But I can’t put these words out into the world and carry on with this tour as things stand.”

Rowe thanked Sheeran on Instagram for his friendship and the opportunities the singer had given him, adding that he did not “take the decision lightly.”

“I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage,” Rowe wrote.

Beoga’s members said in a statement that the band members “believe in dialogue” to address the situation in the Middle East.

“As musicians, playing to those crowds every night is the stuff of dreams but to play in venues that silence anyone advocating for a Free Palestine is simply not an option for us,” the band wrote.

Macklemore, a Seattle rapper best known for 2012’s “Thrift Shop,” has publicly advocated for Palestinian rights since war broke out on the Gaza Strip and in southern Israel after an attack by Hamas fighters on Oct. 7, 2023, CNN reported.

The four-time Grammy Award winner made his “Free Palestine” comments at the New Jersey venue before he performed his song “Hind’s Hall,” Variety reported. The protest song was about Israeli soldiers’ 2024 killing of Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old girl in the Gaza Strip, according to The Athletic.

The rapper also played footage of Israeli soldiers contrasted against fleeing Palestinian civilians and rubble, saying, “To my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, in no way is a criticism of you.”

Kraft has been a prominent, longtime supporter of Israel among sports figures, The Athletic reported. He formed the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism in 2019 and has promoted the Stand Up to Jewish Hate advocacy campaign since the Anti-Defamation League launched it in 2022.

“This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf,” Kraft wrote in a statement. “Their pain and loss are real. But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas.

“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.”

In an Instagram post, Sheeran said “he was not complicit” with the ban.

“I respect Macklemore’s strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes,” Sheeran wrote on Tuesday. “However, there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: peace.”

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