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Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran’s US tour after free Palestine speech
14th September, 2026 10:24 PM
Macklemore has been dropped from the remainder of the US leg of Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour, after the American rapper drew headlines for saying “free Palestine” on stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
In a brief speech between songs on 4 September, the Grammy-winning artist told the audience he wanted the people of Gaza and “the occupied West Bank” to know “we have not forgotten about them”, prompting a petition from the Israeli American Council demanding his removal from the tour.
Messina Touring Group, the promoter of the US leg of Sheeran’s tour, told Rolling Stone: “As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s US Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming US tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.” Sheeran did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
The Seattle-bred rapper was slated to open for Sheeran at eight of the remaining 10 shows of his US Loop tour, which will resume on 19 September in Philadelphia. The venues that allegedly objected to Macklemore’s return include stadiums in that city as well as outside Boston, Atlanta, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Dallas and Tampa.
Macklemore, long an outspoken supporter of the rights of Palestinians and those in Gaza, delivered the remarks at his first appearance on the Loop tour on 4 September. “A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine,’” he said in a two-minute speech. “I said: ‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”
Alluding to possible controversy, he added that not “speaking my heart to keep my own comfort, and the audience’s comfort … is the day that I no longer deserve to be on stage”, and called US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a “terrorist organisation”. He also showed images of the devastation from Israeli military attacks in Gaza during his protest anthem Hind’s Hall, which celebrated protesters’ occupation of a building they named in honour of Hind Rajab, a six-year-old killed by the Israeli military in 2024.
The comments spurred the group StopAntisemitism to accuse the musician of “ambushing” fans with “anti-Israel propaganda” in an Instagram post that was amplified by the singer Pink.
In another post, Pink explained that she did not object to Macklemore saying “free Palestine” but added: “I have never asked for another artist to be silenced, and I’m not asking now. I don’t need anyone fired, and I don’t need a refund. What I need is to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, ‘that scared me, and it scared people I love,’ without being told our fear is just propaganda, and without being told I’m somehow cool with genocide because I noticed?”
Macklemore to be removed from the tour
The Israeli American Council also called for Macklemore to be removed from the tour, claiming his statements raised the question of “where the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda”.
At the second of his appearances at MetLife on 5 September, Macklemore reiterated his support for Palestine and addressed Jewish members of the audience: “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.”
In a lengthy Instagram post on Monday morning, Macklemore confirmed that Sheeran and his team had decided to remove him from the tour, but noted that he, Sheeran and Pink were not victims. “We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world,” he wrote. “Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.
“The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence,” he added, citing the more than 20,000 children killed in Gaza by the Israeli military since the 7 October 2023 terrorist attacks by Hamas.
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.
“What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years,” he added. “So why is it an issue now? Because now I’m sharing the stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, on some of the biggest stages in America.”
Macklemore ended his multi-page post by reiterating his call to “free Palestine”: “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.”
The North American leg of Sheeran’s tour will conclude in November at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, which earlier this year hosted two shows by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who has a history of antisemitic statements. Tour openers Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe are set to take the stage as planned.
