By Kanishka Singh
Sept 14 (Reuters) – American rapper Macklemore said on Monday he was dropped from pop star Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour after his pro-Palestinian comments and “Free Palestine” remarks during a September 4 concert at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
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Macklemore wrote on Instagram he and Sheeran had “some difficult conversations this past week.”
Messina Touring Group, promoter of the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, told Rolling Stone that venue owners on the upcoming U.S. tour dates notified the promoters they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore in the lineup.
“After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates,” Messina Touring Group said. Sheeran had no immediate comment.
Macklemore has long been pro-Palestinian and a critic of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of the West Bank.
In 2024, Macklemore released Hind’s Hall, a protest anthem in solidarity with pro-Palestinian demonstrators and in memory of 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab who was killed by Israeli troops in Gaza. Israel’s military said last month it had opened a criminal investigation into her killing, though rights groups say such probes rarely lead to convictions.
“A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine,'” Macklemore said earlier this month.
“I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them,” Macklemore had said during the concert.
Macklemore, a Grammy-winning artist, was on the bill to perform at eight of the 10 shows Sheeran has left on his stadium tour, which will resume on September 19 in Philadelphia, according to Variety.
The Israeli-American Council started a petition urging Sheeran to remove Macklemore from the tour.
Macklemore said on Instagram New England Patriots owner and billionaire Robert Kraft rallied support among some stadium owners and told Sheeran they will not allow him to perform at their venues if Macklemore stayed on the tour.
In a statement to U.S. media, Kraft said much of his time was dedicated to fighting hate and antisemitism and he felt “a responsibility to stand up when I believe that line has been crossed.”
Macklemore denies being antisemitic and said that conflating antisemitism with criticism of Israel’s actions aims to avoid Israeli accountability.
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(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Howard Goller)
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