A major controversy has engulfed Ed Sheeran’s ongoing international tour, after the removal of supporting act Macklemore for his public pro-Palestine advocacy prompted every remaining opening performer to quit in solidarity, throwing the North American leg of the tour into chaos.
The dispute began after rapper Macklemore, best known for his 2012 hit *Thrift Shop*, spoke out in support of Palestinian rights during an early tour stop in New Jersey. The 43-year-old artist has been a vocal advocate for Palestine since Israel launched its military campaign in Gaza following the October 7 2023 attacks.
On Monday, Robert Kraft, owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, announced he would block Macklemore from performing at the venue later that month. Shortly after the announcement, Macklemore confirmed he had been dropped from all remaining US tour dates supporting Sheeran. The rapper directly blamed Kraft for the move, claiming the prominent pro-Israel donor pressured other stadium owners to issue an ultimatum to Sheeran and tour organizers: remove Macklemore, or the entire show would be canceled.
Kraft, who previously cut institutional funding to Columbia University over the school’s response to on-campus Gaza protests, confirmed he supported the cancellation but has not directly addressed Macklemore’s accusation of coordinated pressure across venues.
Sheeran moved quickly to distance himself from the decision, writing in a public Instagram statement that removing Macklemore was a choice made by the tour’s promoter, not the headlining artist. He added that venue operators had explicitly threatened to cancel the entire remaining shows if Macklemore remained on the lineup. The singer told Macklemore that the phrases “Free Palestine” and displays of the Palestinian flag had been described as hurtful to people he had consulted.
In response, Macklemore countered that framing these expressions of solidarity as more offensive than the death of more than 70,000 people in Gaza — a majority of whom are women and children — represented a fundamental moral disconnect. The rapper kept the focus of his public remarks on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, rather than his own removal from the tour.
The backlash to Macklemore’s ousting spread almost immediately. All four remaining opening acts — producer and songwriter Finneas, singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, Irish folk band Beoga, and Danish pop group Lukas Graham — announced they were withdrawing from the tour in solidarity. Finneas shared his position publicly on Instagram, writing: “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. I stand with Palestine and its people.”
The incident has sparked broader debate over freedom of expression in the entertainment industry, particularly around discourse related to the Israel-Gaza conflict. Legal experts note that private venue owners hold the legal right to select which performers may appear on their property. However, Lee Rowland, a representative of the National Coalition Against Censorship, called the episode a visible symptom of a growing, systemic problem of chilling speech around the conflict.
Macklemore has received widespread public support from a range of high-profile figures since his removal, including U.S. Representatives Ilhan Omar and Pramila Jayapal, both prominent progressive critics of Israeli policy in Gaza, and fellow musicians Zara Larsson and PinkPantheress.