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Supporting acts on Ed Sheeran US tour quit after rapper removed for pro-Palestine remarks
Rapper Macklemore faced criticism from Jewish groups for saying ‘Free Palestine’ and making political speeches at two concerts.
The removal of rapper Macklemore from pop singer Ed Sheeran’s United States tour after he made pro-Palestine comments has sparked a furore, with the British singer’s supporting acts and backing band also quitting the tour in solidarity.
Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, had been the opening act for Sheeran’s North American Loop tour. He had faced criticism from Jewish groups for saying “Free Palestine” and making political speeches at two concerts, the BBC reported.
Sheeran, in a social media post, attributed the decision to drop Macklemore to the promoters of the tour. “After Macklemore’s performances at my New Jersey shows, venues on my upcoming tour dates communicated that they would pull the shows if he was still supporting,” he said.
Sheeran enjoys a large fan following in India and has performed in the country ten times across four visits.
Following Macklemore’s removal, three of Sheeran’s supporting acts – Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Finneas – as well as backing band Beoga said they were leaving the tour in solidarity with the rapper.
On September 4, Macklemore performed his song Hind’s Hall, which criticises Israel’s military action in Gaza, during Ed Sheeran’s concert at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Footage showing the devastation in Gaza was also played on the stadium’s big screen during the performance.
He was quoted by BBC as telling the audience: “A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so that I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very, very dear to my heart: Free Palestine.”
Following the performance, an American outfit StopAntisemitism, which describes itself as a pro-Israel nonprofit advocacy group, criticised Macklemore. It said that Jewish fans had bought tickets to see Sheeran perform and should not have been subjected to what it described as the rapper’s “anti-Israel propaganda”.
The following night, Macklemore returned to the stage and addressed the Jewish audience members.
“Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, is in no way a criticism of you,” BBC quoted him as saying. He added that he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
However, the backlash against Macklemore intensified, with the Israeli-American Council also launching a petition calling on Sheeran to remove him from the tour.
In a post on social media, Macklemore said that he understood the difficult position Sheeran was in, but questioned the singer’s decision to not take a stance.
“Taking a side can cost you,” he wrote on Instagram. “Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I’ve lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed.”
He further added: “When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn’t leave you in the middle.”
Sheeran, on his part, said that he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine”. However he added that there was a reason why he does not use his “professional platform for politics”.
“…my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds,” he wrote on Instagram. “Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum.”
He said that he respected Macklemore’s “strength of purpose” to stand up and “shout for what he believes”.
However, he added: “If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change”.
Israel’s military offensive in Gaza began in October 2023 after the Palestinian militant group Hamas killed 1,200 persons during its incursion into southern Israel and took hostages. Israel has been carrying out unprecedented air and ground strikes on Gaza since then, leaving more than 73,300 persons dead.
In September 2025, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry said that Israel committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
In June, commission said that the Israeli military had deliberately targeted and killed Palestinian children to commit a genocide. The Israeli forces have killed more than 20,000 children and injured 44,000 since October 2023, the panel said.
Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.