Macklemore, the rapper best known for hits in the early 2010s including “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us,” said that Ed Sheeran and his team have removed him as the opening act for the pop singer’s tour as a result of his pro-Palestine comments in a Mondaysocial media post.
Multiple stadiums told Messina Touring Group, which promotes Sheeran’s tour, that Macklemore wouldn’t be allowed to perform, Rolling Stone reported Monday. The decision comes after Macklemore — née Ben Haggerty — made statements in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank during his two shows opening for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Haggerty said that he had several conversations with Sheeran in the past week. According to the rapper, Robert Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium near Boston, rallied some of the owners of stadiums that were hosting the remaining dates to give Sheeran an ultimatum: If “Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”
Kraft, Sheeran and Messina Touring Group didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Pro-Israel groups — including the Israeli-American Council, which petitioned Sheeran to remove Macklemore from the tour — had criticized Macklemore’s comments, while the singer Pink shared a social media post from StopAntisemitism that accused the rapper of ambushing fans with “anti-Israel propaganda.”
In a statement, Macklemore said Sheeran’s “typical apolitical stance” was challenged as a result of the demands from the stadium owners. He noted that he didn’t want it to affect his friendship with the pop singer but that the situation wouldn’t dissuade his activism for Palestine.
“I didn’t need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2,” he wrote. “Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say. Free Palestine.”
Catch up quickly every weekday morning with a rundown of the 7 most important and interesting stories. Sign up for The 7 newsletter.
The post Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour after pro-Palestine comments appeared first on Washington Post.
