Singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe defended Ed Sheeran on social media Friday, telling his fans that criticism should be pointed at other figures behind the decision to remove Macklemore from Sheeran’s tour over the rapper’s onstage advocacy for Palestine. Rowe’s statement comes after he also exited his dates as a Sheeran opener in solidarity with Macklemore.
“You are all focusing on the wrong person here,” Rowe said in an edited, front-facing video posted to his Instagram. “All I keep hearing is Ed Sheeran this, Ed Sheeran that — when you really should be focusing on the likes of [Gillette Stadium owner] Robert Kraft. You really should be focusing on the 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.”
Rowe went on to say that Sheeran’s statement “could have been a lot better, and I do think that Macklemore shouldn’t have been pulled from the tour.” In a social media statement posted Tuesday, Sheeran said that Macklemore’s removal was “the promoter’s decision” and “not mine.”
“I fully believe it was panic station over there, and they fucking rushed the decision because they didn’t know what to fucking do because they were getting it from all angles. That’s 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 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 about genocide. That’s what you should be using your energy on. Not fucking Ed Sheeran, for fuck’s sake.”
Rowe dropped out of Sheeran’s Loop Tour on Tuesday, along with fellow openers Finneas, Lukas Graham and Beoga, Sheeran’s house band. The tour dates now have no opening acts booked.
“I don’t take the decision lightly. Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life. I could never thank him enough for this,” Rowe wrote in a statement announcing his exit. “As Irish people, we know 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. 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.”
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