Macklemore removed from Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour after pro-Palestine comments

Four-time Grammy Award winner Macklemore said he has been removed from the remainder of Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour, claiming that venue owners led by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft barred the rapper over recent pro-Palestinian comments he made onstage.

Messina Touring Group, the promoter for the U.S. portion of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, confirmed the decision in a statement to Rolling Stone.

“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,” the promoter said in its statement. “After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”

In a statement, Kraft confirmed he banned Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, from performing at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, The Athletic reported. Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium 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.

Macklemore made the comments before he performed his song “Hind’s Hall,” in which he supports pro-Palestinian protests, Variety reported. The song was about Israeli soldiers’ 2024 killing of Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old girl in the Gaza Strip, according to The Athletic.

The Seattle rapper also played footage of Israeli soldiers contrasted against running 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, in seeking to ban Macklemore, cited the rapper’s “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.” according to the sports news website.

Macklemore was slated to appear at eight of the remaining 10 shows left on the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s tour, which resumes Friday in Philadelphia, Rolling Stone reported.

The venues that allegedly banded with 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.

“What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now?” Macklemore wrote in his statement. “Because now I’m sharing a stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stadiums in America.”

“Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium,” Macklemore wrote in an Instagram post. “Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”

“A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine,’” Macklemore said during the first MetLife show, according to The Athletic. “I said, ‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”

The blowback was swift.

StopAntisemitism accused Macklemore of ambushing fans with “anti-Israel propaganda” in an Instagram post, which singer shared.

Pink later explained that she did not object to Macklemore’s calls but said, “I have never asked for another artist to be silenced and I’m not asking now.”

“I don’t need anyone fired, and I don’t need a refund,” Pink said. “What I need is to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, ‘that scared me, and it scared people I love,’ without being told our fear is just propaganda, and without being told I’m somehow cool with genocide because I noticed?”

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, according to WFXT. “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.”

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