Four Ed Sheeran tour openers exit in solidarity with Macklemore

Kraft and other stadium owners refused to host Macklemore, Sheeran says

All four supporting acts for the remaining legs of Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour announced their exits on Tuesday, citing solidarity with Macklemore after the rapper was removed from the lineup for onstage remarks about Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank.

Macklemore, a Grammy-winning artist, made the remarks during two shows at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on 4 September. In a two-minute speech, he told the audience that he wanted the people of Gaza and “the occupied West Bank” to know “we have not forgotten about them,” along with the words “free Palestine.”

The comments prompted a petition from the Israeli American Council calling for Macklemore’s removal and the opposition of several stadium owners — including Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and a prominent donor to Israel. Sheeran confirmed in a multi-page Instagram post that Kraft and other venue owners had refused to allow the tour to play at their venues if Macklemore continued to open for him.

“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine,” Sheeran wrote. He said he “would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living.” Sheeran added that he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine” and “the suffering and pain caused on both sides,” and that attempts to broker conversations between parties had been unsuccessful, with “the venue’s and the promoter’s decision was final.”

The four openers announced their exits within hours of Sheeran’s statement.

Finneas, the singer scheduled to open six South American dates in November, withdrew Tuesday afternoon. “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote on social media. “I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”

Aaron Rowe, an Irish singer who had opened for Sheeran in Australia earlier this year and was scheduled for the 10 remaining North American dates, wrote on Instagram: “I don’t take the decision lightly. Ed has been a friends to me and has changed my life, I could never thank him enough for this. But as Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation. 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 murder of children. I would lose all respect for myself to carry on as normal.”

The Irish band Beoga, also slated for the North American run, said the group was leaving the tour to protest what it described as the “silencing of Macklemore by zionist lobbies.” “We are a traditional Irish band who never saw ourselves playing in stadiums of that size and that opportunity is not lost on us,” the band wrote. “We have been friends with Ed for over 10 years now and will continue to be. We believe in dialogue as a means of progressing the plight of the Palestinian people.”

Danish pop band Lukas Graham also dropped out of the tour Tuesday afternoon. “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,” wrote lead singer Lukas Forchhammer on the band’s social media. “Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”

The walkouts joined a growing chorus of backlash to Macklemore’s removal. The children’s educator and YouTube creator Ms Rachel wrote on Instagram: “Ed Sheeran had an opportunity [to] show that we won’t be bullied into punishing people for supporting Palestine. Instead he caved to people who refuse to accept what the world knows. A genocide is happening in Gaza. We all need to speak on it.”

The singer Kehlani, whose pro-Palestine activism led to the cancellation of a concert at Cornell University last year, wrote in support of Macklemore: “A LOT of the venues / owners are rallied together this way. honored to know you brother.”

In his own statement on Monday, Kraft did not deny refusing to allow Macklemore on stage at his Gillette Stadium outside Boston. The Patriots owner said the decision was based on both Macklemore’s “recent actions” and “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.” He added: “I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same – peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate.”