Aaron Rowe ProfileAaron Rowe, one of the support acts who dropped off Ed Sheeran’s US tour dates in solidarity with Palestinians and Macklemore, has defended the Shape of You star amid ongoing fallout.
In case you missed it: earlier this week, Macklemore revealed he had been removed from eight out of ten stadium dates on Sheeran’s tour across the US.
The news arrived after he made comments supporting Palestinian people and their rights on stage in New Jersey earlier this month (4 and 5 September). His comments drew criticism from pop star Pink and quickly amassed controversy.
Performing his 2024 protest song Hind’s Hall, Macklemore reminded the audience that those in Gaza and the West Bank had not been forgotten – by him or the public. “I believe that every human being walking on this earth deserves exactly the same freedom,” he stated.
However, a petition requesting his removal from the tour soon launched, with the Israeli American Council expressing their disapproval of his comments. “This was an Ed Sheeran concert - not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event,” the petition read.
In a lengthy statement, Macklemore explained that in the wake of the controversy, Sheeran was contacted by US businessman Robert Kraft – whose company, the Kraft Group, owns Gillette Stadium, where the rapper was scheduled to support Sheeran on 25 and 26 September – and provided an ultimatum of either removing Macklemore from the shows or not playing the venue.
After Macklemore was removed from the tour, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and FINNEAS – the tour’s other openers – confirmed their departures, as did Sheeran’s backing band, Beoga.
Aaron Rowe was the first of the main support acts to pull out of the shows, expressing Beoga’s sentiment that as an Irishman, he knows “all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation.”
He continued, “I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children.
“I would lose all respect for myself to carry on as normal. I need to be true to myself and my ancestors who resisted colonisation, and fought for a freedom that I enjoy today in Ireland.”
Now, Rowe has taken to his Instagram to defend Ed Sheeran and spotlight Robert Kraft and alleged “Zionist lobbies” that pressured the pop star to remove Macklemore from the tour.
“I’m gonna be honest. I think you are all focusing on the wrong person here,” Rowe said in a long, edited video. “All I keep hearing is Ed Sheeran this, Ed Sheeran that — when you really should be focusing on the likes of Robert Kraft.”
Rowe said the public should be focused on alleged “Zionist lobbies that are trying to silence the voices of people who are shouting about genocide, the genocide that is happening in Palestine right now by Israel.”
Acknowledging that Sheeran’s statement in the wake of the controversy “could have been a lot better,” Rowe said that panic on Sheeran’s team led to Macklemore’s removal from the tour. He believes the pop superstar now views the decision as “a mistake.”
“I haven’t had a chance to fucking talk to Ed too much, but I fully believe he knows that was a mistake,” Rowe said. He added that all the support acts supported Palestinians, as A United Nations Independent Commission of Inquiry reported that Israel has committed and continues to commit acts of genocide in Gaza.
“Like, if Ed Sheeran was a fucking Zionist, why would he have all these fucking people on the fucking tour?” Rowe asked.
He continued, “You should be using this opportunity to plaster Robert Kraft’s face everywhere, someone who tried to shut down free speech, someone who tried to silence the voices of people who are shouting out genocide. That’s what you should be using your energy on, not fucking Ed Sheeran, for fuck’s sake.”
After his removal, Macklemore announced he would donate the full $1 million in net earnings from Sheeran’s tour to several organisations supporting Palestinian people – urging Robert Kraft to do the same. Kraft responded with a statement of his own, which included a $2 million commitment and claimed it matched a donation from Sheeran.
Sheeran’s US tour is scheduled to resume on 19 September. It remains to be seen how the upcoming dates will proceed.
