Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour Over Pro-Palestine Remarks, Entire Opening Lineup Quits in Protest

Ed Sheeran’s international tour has been thrown into turmoil after rapper Macklemore was dropped from the remaining US dates over pro-Palestinian remarks made during shows in New Jersey, a decision that has since prompted every other opening act and Sheeran’s own onstage band to walk off the tour in protest.

The controversy became public Monday when New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft announced he would bar Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts later this month. In a statement, Kraft said, “Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.” Macklemore, who made the remarks referenced in Kraft’s statement while performing in New Jersey, subsequently said he had been removed from the rest of Sheeran’s American tour entirely, not just the Gillette Stadium dates.

Sheeran moved quickly to distance himself from the decision, telling reporters, “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine.” The clarification did little to contain the fallout. Within days, every one of Sheeran’s other opening acts on the tour, along with his onstage backing band, announced they would no longer take part in the remaining shows, in direct solidarity with Macklemore. The wave of departures has left Sheeran’s tour without its supporting lineup for the remaining US dates, an unusual and highly public show of unity among musicians against a promoter’s decision.

The dispute traces back to Macklemore’s long, public history of pro-Palestinian activism, which predates his current tour with Sheeran by several years. In 2024, he released “Hind’s Hall,” a protest song expressing solidarity with Palestinians and calling for an end to the war in Gaza, later donating all proceeds from the track to UNRWA USA. He performed the song live for the first time that year in New Zealand, telling the crowd, “I stand here today and every day forward for the rest of my life in solidarity with the people of Palestine, with an open heart, in the belief that our collective liberation is at stake.” He has continued releasing pro-Palestinian material since, including a 2025 song titled “Fucked Up,” with proceeds again directed to UNRWA USA, and has regularly posted in support of Palestinians on social media, writing as recently as September that “wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial.”

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Kraft’s statement specifically cited concerns about antisemitic rhetoric and imagery associated with Macklemore’s recent onstage material during the New Jersey shows, though the statement did not detail the specific content that prompted that characterization. Macklemore has not directly addressed the antisemitism allegation in detail, though his broader public messaging, including his social media posts, has consistently framed his activism around Palestinian civilian suffering and a call for equal treatment rather than rhetoric targeting Jewish people or Judaism as a faith. The gap between how Macklemore’s supporters and his critics are characterizing the same body of onstage material sits at the center of the current dispute, with backers framing his removal as retaliation for legitimate political speech, and critics, including Kraft, framing it as a necessary response to content they consider to have crossed into antisemitic territory.

The rapid, coordinated walkout by Sheeran’s other openers and band members marks an unusually visible act of solidarity within the touring music industry, where opening acts and supporting musicians typically have limited leverage or incentive to jeopardize their own bookings over a headliner’s business decisions. The scale of the walkout has turned what began as a single promoter’s decision about one performer into a broader flashpoint touching on questions of artistic expression, political speech at concerts, and how venues and promoters navigate the increasingly fraught politics surrounding the Israel-Gaza war.

As of this week, Sheeran’s tour is proceeding without its original supporting lineup, and neither Sheeran’s team nor tour promoters have announced replacement acts for the remaining US dates. Macklemore has not indicated whether he plans any legal or public response beyond confirming his removal from the tour, and the Gillette Stadium shows referenced in Kraft’s statement remain scheduled to proceed as planned on September 25 and 26, now without Macklemore among the performers.