Ed Sheeran ProfileEd Sheeran's US tour is currently without any opening acts, after the likes of FINNEAS, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe backed out following the unceremonious removal of Macklemore this week.
On Tuesday, Macklemore revealed he had been dropped from eight upcoming dates on Sheeran's tour following pro-Palestinian statements he made onstage in New Jersey on September 4th and 5th.
Performing his 2024 protest song Hind's Hall, the rapper reminded the audience that those in Gaza and the West Bank had not been forgotten. "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 the whole incident. "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 September 25th and 26th – and provided an ultimatum of either removing Macklemore from the shows, or not playing the venue.
"Ed was in a fucked up position. He knew it," Macklemore explained. "His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words 'Free Palestine' and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with.
"I told him that if those words were more offensive than 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. But he couldn't get past his public facing, 'I don't take sides.'"
Though Sheeran had not initially commented on the situation, backlash towards his apolitical stance was swift, ultimately necessitating his response to the matter on social media this morning.
Explaining he is "appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine" and labelling the suffering and pain on both sides as a "human tragedy", Sheeran outlined that he was indeed contacted by venues – including Kraft Group's Robert Kraft – and despite attempts to find a "mutual resolution for all", it was ultimately the decision of the promoters and venues to remove Macklemore from the shows.
"I am not complicit," Sheeran added. "I have my personal views on this 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."
He continued:
There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics - my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum.
I respect Macklemore's strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes. 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.
If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change. There are different approaches to being an advocate for change.
However, despite Sheeran's attempts to explain the situation, it appears his efforts have been fruitless, with all the remaining acts on the tour departing the upcoming dates.
One of those acts is Irish outfit Beoga, who had supported Sheeran as a backing band on many of his performances, citing the "silencing of Macklemore by zionist lobbies" as the reason for their exit.
"We are Irish people who understand colonialism," they explained. "As founding members of the Irish Artists For Palestine movement, we are committed activists for justice and will continue to be.
"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."
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".
"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," he explained.
"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."
"It's hard to watch families in other parts of the world burying the people they love," added Danish pop duo Lukas Graham. "We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up. Wherever they live. Whatever flag flies over them."
"Money doesn't give you the right to own the conversation," they added. "Nobody's bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we're allowed to acknowledge."
FINNEAS also joined the conversation, noting that he not only stands "with Palestine and its people", but expressing his belief that "artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed" as part of the reason for his exit from the tour.
Sheeran's US tour is presently scheduled to resume on September 19th, and while his official website still lists all the previously-planned supports (sans Macklemore), it remains to be seen how the upcoming dates will proceed.
