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American rapper Macklemore was kicked off the remainder of Ed Sheeran's stadium tour after expressing pro-Palestinian views at a show in New Jersey earlier this month.
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The Questions
Why did Macklemore get kicked off Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour?
During his performance at MetLife Stadium on September 4, Macklemore said, “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.”
On September 5, during another performance at MetLife, he addressed Jewish audience members and said, “Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace, love; for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.”
Macklemore’s onstage comments prompted critical posts from the StopAntisemitism activist organization, one of which was amplified by pop singer P!nk.
Macklemore later said on Instagram that Sheeran contacted him after a conversation with Robert Kraft about Macklemore’s comments on the Israel-Palestine conflict. Kraft owns the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, where the tour is scheduled to stop later this month.
Macklemore alleged that Kraft told Sheeran that Macklemore would not be allowed to perform at his stadium and that he was given the choice between cancelling the show or removing Macklemore from the performance. Additionally, Macklemore claimed that Kraft rallied other stadium owners to maintain this position for their venues as well.
Kraft released a statement that said the decision to ban Macklemore came because of his recent comments “and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.” Both P!nk and Kraft are Jewish Americans.
In Sheeran’s own Instagram post about the issue, Sheeran alleged that the decision to remove Macklemore from the tour came from the promoter rather than himself. He also claimed that Kraft’s stance “was based on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message… rather than on everything that was said.”
Sheeran wrote, “There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics – my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum. I respect Macklemore's strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes. However, there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: peace. I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed.”
Macklemore described Sheeran as a longtime “friend” who “was in a f***ed up position” because “his typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before.” He also criticized what he described as the weaponization of antisemitism accusations, and concluded, “I didn't need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say. Free Palestine. But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I've ever been on.”
Macklemore’s comments did not come out of nowhere, however. The artist has previously voiced support for Palestinian freedom, given speeches at performances about the subject, and has projected images of the Palestinian flag on stage.
His music has never shied away from political and social themes. In 2012, he and creative partner Ryan Lewis released the pro-gay rights song “Same Love,” and in 2016 he released “White Privilege II,” which commented on police brutality and Black Lives Matter.
In 2014, Macklemore dressed in a costume that many argued resembled a Jewish man and was antisemitic, though Macklemore later apologized and said he didn't mean to offend anyone.
How have the media and politicians reacted?
Macklemore’s decision has received praise from many Democratic lawmakers and commentators, and fellow celebrities. Some conservative voices were more critical.
Fox News (Right) cited Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) thanking Macklemore for speaking up and saying, “This is a moment for us to come together, find our moral conscience as a nation, and end this genocide.” It also mentioned criticism from children’s YouTuber, Ms. Rachel, who said, “Ed Sheeran…caved to people who refuse to accept what the world knows.” Music artist Finneas also announced his decision to withdraw from Sheeran’s tour on Instagram, writing, “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed.” Fox and Newsweek (Center) listed other prominent figures who’ve backed Macklemore, including Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), Rosie O’Donnell and Lukas Graham.
Some have argued that the decision to remove him from the tour threatens freedom of speech. Aaron Terr from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) (Center) said that two stadiums where Macklemore had been scheduled to perform were publicly owned and operated, meaning “they have to comply with the First Amendment” and “can’t cancel a performance just because they disagree with the artist’s views.” Terr noted, however, that if the stadiums weren’t involved in the decision, there would be no First Amendment violation. Terr also warned this precedent could lead to “any artist who expresses a controversial political view find[ing] it difficult to get on stage.”
A Mother Jones (Left) article argued that the dispute is a “corporate threat to free speech.” It said while the venues are publicly owned, the corporate branding and “billionaire team owners” have “become a mechanism for corporate censorship of political speech.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) echoed this argument in an interview with TMZ, saying, “It's become clear that this is not just about one music artist or two music artists, but this is about how just a handful of stadium owners and the elite can prevent an entire massive issue.” An opinion writer in MS Now (Left) said the debate “exposes the galling hypocrisy of those who profess to be the most opposed to so-called cancel culture.”
An opinion writer in The Spectator (Right) criticized accusations of “censorship,” saying, “I thought ‘freeze peach’ was the cry of racist gammons and cancel culture an invention of the far right? This is the problem with progressives: they’re so busy progressing they never stand in the same philosophical spot for longer than five minutes.” The writer downplayed Macklemore as an artist, describing him as a “bore” and saying he “sounds like an ideal warm-up for a middle-of-the-road peddler of romantic pop” before arguing that “The accusation that Israel is committing a genocide in Gaza is…not the cry of street revolutionaries amid clouds of tear gas; it’s the cry of school teachers and church ladies amid Facebook posts about their grandchildren and their dachshunds.”
Will the tour continue?
Much of Sheeran’s Loop Tour has already taken place, with just 10 of 27 shows remaining in the US, and eight in Latin America. Before the US tour began in June, 24 other shows happened in Australia, New Zealand, and Latin America.
All the artists scheduled to appear on the upcoming dates have dropped off in response to Macklemore’s cutting, including an Irish group called Beoga that served as Sheeran’s backing band. On Instagram, the group said they made the decision “following the silencing of Macklemore by zionist lobbies.”
Other artists that have left the tour dates include Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe, all of whom cited solidarity with Palestine and the importance of freedom of expression as the reasons behind their decisions.
Sheeran has not made any public comments about cancelling the tour or individual dates at the time of writing.
Has “cancel culture” returned to music?
Throughout the 2010s, aggressively passionate music fans often sought to “cancel” famous artists or musicians for a litany of reasons; chief among them were allegations of sexual misconduct, racism, or support for US President Donald Trump.
Though there has been mainstream discourse suggesting that cancel culture has been on the decline, certain events involving musical artists over the past year-plus suggest it may not be.
Macklemore’s remarks are one of several high-profile controversies since last summer that involved a musical artist facing consequences for supporting Islamic organizations that are engaged in conflict with Israel.
Though Macklemore simply said “Free Palestine” some other musical groups from the UK and Ireland have taken things a bit further and faced harsher consequences.
In June 2025, British punk-rap duo Bob Vylan had their visas revoked by the US Department of State ahead of a US tour after they led “Death to the IDF” chants at Glastonbury Festival. The duo was also subject to investigation by the UK, but was not charged with anything.
Similarly, in 2025, Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap was banned from Hungary and Canada ahead of performances in each country after they voiced support for Palestine at Glastonbury Festival. The band was investigated for their comments, but the investigation was dropped without any charges being filed in July.
One of the group members had also faced terror charges for a previous incident in November 2024 when he held a Hezbollah flag onstage in London. He had reportedly said he picked up the flag that was thrown onstage without knowing what it was. Those charges were also dropped in September 2025. Still, the incident was enough for the band to cancel their sold-out US tour scheduled for October 2025 because of the proceedings.
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