Macklemore ProfileUS rapper Macklemore has revealed he will no longer be performing on Ed Sheeran's upcoming tour dates due to his recent onstage comments in support of a free Palestine.
Macklemore had previously been scheduled to open for the UK singer on ten dates of his current Loop Tour in the US. Having joined the tour earlier this month, Macklemore would perform on both the September 4th and 5th dates at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, before his onstage comments at the former ignited controversy.
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.
Macklemore would address the controversy at the second night's show, stating "none of us will be free until we are all free". However, some public figures – including Pink – also got involved, with the singer generating her own controversy (and resulting in her own statement) when she shared a post on social media calling for Macklemore's removal.
Now, Macklemore has confirmed he will no longer be performing on the previously-scheduled shows supports Sheeran, with the singer and his team having "made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour".
In his lengthy post on social media explaining the situation, Macklemore made it clear he does not view himself, Sheeran, or even Pink as a victim in the situation, citing their abilities to have careers which generate income while also having the good fortune to return home to their families despite whatever controversy may arise.
"The victims are the Palestinian people," he explained. "The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone.
"People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don't lose sight of that."
Calling Sheeran both a friend and a "brother" of 13 years, Macklemore explained that his onstage comments inspired some "difficult conversations" over the past week.
"The type of talks rooted in love and respect for one another that still end in a place of fundamental disagreement," he outlined. "Nothing I'm writing here is out of spite or because I want to tear down his character.
"But as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can't change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened."
As Macklemore explained, in the wake of the controversy, Sheeran was contacted by US businessman Robert Kraft, whose company the Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium, where Macklemore was scheduled to support Sheeran on September 25th and 26th.
"Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium," the rapper explained. "Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues."
He continued:
Ed was in a fucked up position. He knew it. 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."
And I get why people don't. Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I've lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn't leave you in the middle.
What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now? Because now I'm sharing a stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stadiums in America. At a certain level of exposure, "Free Palestine" becomes too much of a risk.
If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next? The stage becomes resistance. Maybe that's why this time it became so important to silence me.
As he continued on, Macklemore added that his comments have been wrapped up in accusations of antisemitism, stating that "opposing Zionism or saying 'Free Palestine' gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people," and expressing his hope that the relationship he has fostered with Sheeran doesn't end because of this incident.
"Thirteen years of friendship doesn't disappear because of one painful disagreement," he noted. "I hope we both continue listening, studying what is happening in Palestine and wrestling with what neutrality means in a moment like this.
"My door will always be open to continuing that conversation."
As he wrapped the post, Macklemore ultimately expressed pride in his comments, calling his brief stint in support of Sheeran one of his most successful ventures to date, despite the backlash it resulted in.
"I didn't need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2," he concluded. "Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say. Free Palestine.
"But 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."
Ed Sheeran has not yet made any public comment regarding Macklemore's removal from his tour. His US tour will resume on September 19th, with Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe appearing as support.
