NEW YORK (AP) — Three supporting acts quit Ed Sheeran’s tour on Tuesday after the rapper Macklemore was removed for pro-Palestinian comments he made during a concert in New Jersey.
Hours after Sheeran posted on social media about Maclemore's ouster and attributed the decision to the tour's promoters, Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga, and Finneas posted on Instagram that they would withdraw from Sheeran’s tour.
Rowe was one of Macklemore’s replacements
for Sheeran’s remaining U.S. dates, while Beoga was serving as Sheeran’s touring band. Finneas, who is Billie Eilish’s brother and musical collaborator, was due to tour with Sheeran in South America later this year.
Emails seeking comment were sent to Sheeran and Macklemore’s other replacement, the Danish band Lukas Graham.
Sheeran weighed in on Macklemore being dropped as his opening act after the rapper made pro-Palestinian comments onstage during their tour, saying the decision was made by the promoters alone. The British singer also said he refused to be drawn into a public discussion about the war in Gaza.
“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine,” Sheeran wrote on Instagram on Tuesday. “I 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."
The tour’s promoter, the Messina Touring Group, did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment Tuesday. Macklemore's publicist also did not immediately respond.
Sheeran's statement came a day after Macklemore said he was kicked off the Loop Tour after exclaiming “Free Palestine!” during the Sept. 5 date at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium while introducing his protest song “Hind’s Hall.”
“To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, it in no way is criticism of you,” he said during the concert.
Macklemore said Monday on Instagram that several U.S. venues told the promoter they would prohibit him from performing as Sheeran’s opening act, rallied by Robert Kraft, owner of NFL’s New England Patriots. His Kraft Group also owns Gillette Stadium, where the Patriots play.
In statement Monday, Kraft said the decision to cancel Macklemore was a result 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.”
Sheeran said in his latest post that he “spoke with the venues at length all week to try to build a bridge,” but that “the venue's and promoter's decision was final.”
A growing chorus of organizations and experts say Israel’s wartime actions in Gaza amount to genocide — an accusation Israel vehemently rejects.
Macklemore was scheduled to perform at eight of the 10 shows Sheeran has remaining on his stadium tour, which is scheduled to resume Saturday in Philadelphia. Ahead are stops at Gillette Stadium, Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium.
In his social media statement, Sheeran said he tries to use his music to “bring people from all backgrounds and cultures together” and that while he has personal views about “this devastating conflict,” he chooses not to speak publicly because people who come to his shows “do not expect a political forum.” He added: “I am not complicit.”
“I respect Macklemore’s strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes," Sheeran added. "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.”
