Key Takeaways
- Macklemore says he was removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour after Macklemore declaring “Free Palestine” onstage.
- Macklemore claims Robert Kraft rallied venue owners behind an ultimatum to Sheeran: “If Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”
- Tour promoter Messina Touring Group confirmed Macklemore would not perform on the remaining support dates, saying venues refused to host concerts with him on the lineup.
Macklemore is no longer on Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour following his recent “Free Palestine” speech.
Monday (Sept. 14), Rolling Stone cited a rep for Messina Touring Group, the promoter behind the U.S. leg of the Sheeran-headlined tour in question, as stating that the Grammy-winning artist “will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
Complex has reached out to various reps for comment.
If the lineup had continued as originally announced, Macklemore would have had eight more support dates on Sheeran’s Loop Tour on his schedule. The Messina statement claimed that vanes on the upcoming dates had informed them that they would “not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup,” leading to “discussions with stakeholders,” and ultimately, Macklemore’s removal from the dates.
“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 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,” Macklemore told the crowd during a recent New York show, as seen in the video above.
When sharing the clip, Macklemore nodded at the pushback he had received from some in response to his remarks by pointing out that “wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial.”
This echoed comments he gave in New York. Addressing “all of my Jewish brothers and sisters,” Macklemore said that speaking out against genocide “in no way is a criticism of you.”
Back in 2024, Macklemore released “Hind’s Hall,” a protest track in support of the Palestinian people that finds him mentioning both Joe Biden and Drake while arguing that the music industry at large was “complicit in their platform of silence.”
Shortly after news broke on Monday that he would no longer be on the Sheeran tour, Macklemore shared a new statement to Instagram. In it, he noted a “fundamental disagreement” with the singer, adding that a call from Robert Kraft had placed him “in a fucked up position.”
According to Macklemore, Sheeran recently informed him that Kraft, CEO of Gillette Stadium owners Kraft Group, had called him to say that he had “rallied” other venue owners behind an ultimatum.
“If Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues,” Macklemore said when describing the ultimatum he says was given to Sheeran.
