A promoter says that venues on future U.S. tour dates will not allow a show to go on with Macklemore on the bill.

Rapper Macklemore is a vocal supporter of Palestine and Gaza residents. During a recent concert at MetLife Stadium, he yelled “Free Palestine!” onstage, projected images of devastation in the area, and performed protest song “Hind’s Hall.”

Now, it seems that American venues are not willing to play ball with the Seattle artist, and he has been dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour.

“After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates,” according to Messina Touring Group, the promoter of Loop Tour. This news follows backlash from organizations like StopAntisemitism and others, such as pop star Pink.

  • lobut@lemmy.ca
    5610·
    4 hours ago

    People on Lemmy suck, Internet … never change

    Macklemore explained that the decision came after a week of “difficult conversations” with Sheeran, a friend of 13 years whom he considers a “brother”, though “as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can’t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.” According to Macklemore, Sheeran was under pressure from stadium owners rallied by Robert Kraft – the owner of the New England Patriots and their Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where Sheeran was next slated to play – to drop Macklemore from the tour, lest the English singer be barred from their venues. “Ed was in a fucked up position,” the rapper wrote. “He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it had never been before.

    https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/14/macklemore-dropped-ed-sheeran-tour-free-palestine

    • taiyang@lemmy.world
      5·
      32 minutes ago

      I wasn’t about to read but that’s a great excerpt, especially since I know just how much of a piece of shit Robert Kraft is and is good to know he’s the real evil here.

      I don’t have a very high opinion of Ed Sheeran, but if anything I’m surprised a little by Macklemore’s conviction here. It’s not so much that Sheeran is a spineless coward (I mean, he kinda is but at least I see why), but that Macklemore is… kinda badass for speaking up. I had a meh opinion of him too but it’s moved up a little.

    • Deacon@lemmy.world
      8·
      1 hour ago

      Classy statement. Left unsaid but there for all to see, “my brother didn’t have my back”.

      It’s endlessly surprising to see who among the already famous are going be on the right side of history. I love Macklemore now. And Dua, and the too-small group of other high profile artists who are speaking up even though there is a cost.

    • mrgoosmoos@lemmy.caEnglish
      121·
      2 hours ago

      Sheeran chose a side

      if you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice

    • Chozo@fedia.io
      231·
      3 hours ago

      Sheeran has enough influence to change this, if he actually cared.

      The fact that he hasn’t shows that he doesn’t. It’s his tour, it’s his decision.

    • 0x4f1@lemmy.world
      61·
      3 hours ago

      This Kraft dude seems like a stand-up guy.

      In 2019, Kraft was among 25 people facing first-degree misdemeanor charges for soliciting prostitution at a day spa. His attorney electronically entered a not-guilty plea, and later submitted a court filing where Kraft waived arraignment, pled not guilty to all charges and requested a jury trial.

      In 2026, it was revealed that Kraft had kept a relationship with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and that Epstein had recommended Kraft use his lawyer to defeat the charges.

      source

    • AnyOldName3@lemmy.world
      35·
      3 hours ago

      I think Ed Sheeran is a big enough deal that the stadiums would lose out more than he would if he called their bluff, and they’d likely cave. They’re not going to be able to book another artist for dates that soon that will sell comparable numbers of seats.

    • Snowclone@lemmy.world
      101·
      3 hours ago

      they won’t let you stay in the middle forever. it’s not a safe pick they’re trying to push everyone off the fence all the time it’s a key element of extremism.