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By Alice Gibbs
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As the fallout from Macklemore's removal from Ed Sheeran's tour continues, musicians, lawmakers and activists across the political spectrum have weighed in with their opinions.
Macklemore was removed from the tour following a two-minute speech on 4 September at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where the Grammy-winning artist repeatedly said “Free Palestine” and said that he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
This prompted owners of subsequent tour venues on the North American leg of Sheeran's Loop tour, including Robert Kraft, billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, to object to Macklemore’s appearance on the tour.
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In a statement released on Tuesday, Sheeran said the decision to remove Macklemore was taken by a promoter and not him. Newsweek has approached U.S. promoter Messina Touring Group for comment in an email sent outside of regular working hours.
While several artists have publicly backed Macklemore and withdrawn from the tour in protest, others have defended Sheeran or criticized the rapper's comments.
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Who Has Backed Macklemore?
Roger Waters
The Pink Floyd co-founder directly criticized Ed Sheeran in a video posted to X. “There's two kinds of people in this world, Ed. There's people who do the right thing. That rapper Macklemore would be one of those people,” he said, adding: “And there's people, many of them sadly little, excuse me, p***** like you who do the wrong thing. Goodbye.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
In a short interview with TMZ, the New York congresswoman argued the controversy was bigger than either performer, framing it as an example of powerful interests allegedly being able to silence artists who speak on political issues. "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, in this case, the genocide in Gaza, but it doesn't stop there," Ocasio-Cortez said.
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Ms. Rachel
Children's educator Rachel Accurso accused Sheeran of taking a political stance when supporting Ukraine while remaining silent on Palestinian suffering. “Imagine being a Palestinian kid and seeing he did a concert for Ukraine but when over 20,000 Palestinian children are killed he’s silent. When his opening act says Palestinians should be free and not in a genocide he lets a billionaire kick him off,” Accurso wrote on Instagram.
Aaron Rowe
The Irish singer-songwriter announced he would withdraw as a support act on Sheeran's tour following the removal of Macklemore. “I don’t take the decision lightly. Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life,” he wrote. “But as Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violence occupation. I need to be true to myself and my ancestors who resisted colonization, and fought for a freedom that I enjoy today in Ireland.”
Finneas
Billie Eilish's brother and frequent collaborator announced he would no longer appear on upcoming Sheeran tour dates, writing that "artists must not be silenced" for speaking on behalf of oppressed people. He added: “I stand with Palestine and its people.”
Lukas Graham
The Danish band withdrew from the remaining tour dates, saying in a statement on Instagram: “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... I’m sorry we won’t be there. This is a difficult decision, but it’s one I need to stand by.”
BEOGA
The Irish folk group, which has worked closely with Sheeran for years, left the tour while emphasizing support for Macklemore. They added: “This whole episode is once again serving to distract from the real issue, over 1000 Palestinians have been killed since the most recent so-called ceasefire.”
Kneecap
The Irish rap trio long known for their own vocal support for Palestine offered a brief but unequivocal message of support, posting: "All love and solidarity to Macklemore" alongside a call to "Free Palestine."
Hannah Einbinder
The American actress re-shared a series of posts against Macklemore’s removal from the tour on her Instagram stories, including one where she wrote: “Ed Sheeran I say this as a ginger. I hope you get a REALLY bad sun burn the king on the back of your entire body where it hurts to lie down or walk or sit.”
Who Has Backed Macklemore’s Removal?
Israeli American Council
It was the Israeli American Council who launched a petition to remove Macklemore from the tour following the September 4 comments at the MetLife Stadium. Calling people to sign the petition, they wrote: "This was an Ed Sheeran concert - not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event."
They also objected to Macklemore’s decision to play Hind’s Hall, a song released by the rapper in 2024 about pro-Palestinian protesters who occupied a building at Columbia University,
StopAntisemitism
The advocacy group argued that it was right to remove Macklemore. In a post on Instagram, they wrote: “Concertgoers should not be subjected to hatred from an opening act that has already demonstrated it cannot be trusted to keep politics and hate out of the performance.”
P!NK
Pop arist Pink came under criticism after resharing a StopAntisemitism post. While she later clarified her views and argued that a repost should not automatically be interpreted as an endorsement, critics viewed the original share as support for opposition to Macklemore's comments. She has since reiterated both her Jewish identity and her longstanding position that Palestinians deserve dignity and a future alongside condemnation of Hamas.
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Joe Bonamassa
The American singer-songwriter spoke out on X saying that Macklemore should not have shared his thoughts while on tour with Sheeran. “When you fill stadiums you can say what you want. When you are the opening act for someone who fills stadiums ... STFU! Simple rules and etiquette when operating on tour.. It's not that hard kids,” he wrote.
What Ed Sheeran Said About Macklemore
As fallout continues, Sheeran released his own statement on Tuesday in an Instagram post where he said: “I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy. There are too many wars across the world causing immeasurable pain, none of which should be tolerated.”
He added that “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter's decision; it was not mine. Macklemore's contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me.”
The tour promoter Messina Touring Group told Rolling Stone: “As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancelation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
Update 09/16/26, 09:43 a.m. ET: This story was updated with additional information.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Ben Kelly, Toby Meyjes and Emma Lee-Sang
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