Rapper Macklemore has been removed from the remaining U.S. dates of Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour after several stadiums raised objections to his repeated pro-Palestinian remarks made from the stage during the tour.
Messina Touring Group, which promotes the U.S. leg of the tour, said venues scheduled to host upcoming shows told the promoter they would not allow the concerts to proceed with Macklemore on the bill.
“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,” the promoter said.
Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, had been booked to open eight more concerts on the tour. Those dates were set for Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; 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.
All eight venues reportedly raised concerns about the rapper’s conduct on stage before he was pulled from the lineup.
The controversy stems from remarks Macklemore made during a tour stop at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, where he wore a Palestinian keffiyeh while the stadium’s video screens displayed “Free Palestine” images. He told the crowd he wanted to say “two words that are near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” and accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.
The remarks drew criticism from concertgoers, some of whom sought ticket refunds, as well as from singer Pink, who shared posts criticizing Macklemore’s onstage comments. She later explained her decision to amplify the criticism.
“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. 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,” Pink said.
In response to being dropped, Macklemore released a lengthy statement alleging that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, among others, had pressured Sheeran to remove him from the tour.
