Ed Sheeran Defends Decision to Remove Macklemore From US Tour, Cites Promoter Pressure

The English musician said it was important to “set out some facts” after US rapper Macklemore voiced support for Palestine.

Published On 15 Sep 202615 Sep 2026

Pop star Ed Sheeran has placed responsibility for the removal of rapper Macklemore from his United States tour on the tour’s promoters, following Macklemore’s public expressions of support for Palestine.

In a six-slide post on Instagram on Tuesday, Sheeran said it was necessary to “set out some facts” regarding the situation.

According to Sheeran, the decision to exclude Macklemore from the US Loop Tour was made after venues threatened to cancel future performances if he remained on the bill. Macklemore, whose legal name is Ben Haggerty, faced backlash for his “Free Palestine” remarks and other pro-Palestine statements made during a joint performance with Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month.

“I was informed that this stance was based on how Macklemore conveyed part of this message during his performance, rather than on everything that was said,” Sheeran wrote. “I spoke with the venues at length all week to try and build a bridge.”

Several supporting artists announced their departure from Sheeran’s tour in the wake of Macklemore’s removal. Among them were Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, Irish band Beoga, Danish band Lukas Graham, and musician Finneas, all of whom expressed solidarity with Macklemore and with Palestinians.

Robert Kraft, owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, confirmed that he had pressured Sheeran to drop Macklemore from the tour. The billionaire stated that Macklemore was barred from performing at the team’s Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts later this month, citing what he described as a “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.”

In an Instagram post, Macklemore claimed Sheeran had told him that Kraft had organized a boycott among other stadium owners unless he were removed from the tour due to his pro-Palestine comments.

“I told him that if those words were more offensive than the tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood,” Macklemore said of his conversation with Sheeran.

‘I Am Not Complicit’

Sheeran maintained that the decision to remove Macklemore came from the promoter rather than from his own initiative. The British musician added that he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine.”

“I am not complicit. I have my personal views on the devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care. Nor does it mean I don’t support causes in my own, personal way,” Sheeran said.

Kraft, in a statement to Al Jazeera, said the decision to ban Macklemore from his venue was not about “diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians,” but argued that “advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas.”

Macklemore, who described Sheeran as a close friend, said the two artists had discussed the matter over the past week.

“He couldn’t get past his public-facing, ‘I don’t take sides,'” Macklemore wrote, referring to Sheeran’s reluctance to take a public stance on Israel’s war on Gaza.

Sheeran explained his reluctance to use his “professional platform for politics,” writing that audiences who attend his shows “do not expect a political forum.”

“I respect Macklemore’s strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes,” Sheeran said. “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.”

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