Macklemore Speaks Out After Being Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour, Says Singer Claimed That Saying ‘Free Palestine’ Was ‘Hurtful to a Lot of People’

Macklemore has been dropped from the remaining US dates of Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour. The decision was made after Macklemore led audiences in "Free Palestine" chants during a show. According to Messina Touring Group, the tour promoter, venues informed them that they would not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would have resulted in the cancellation of the tour and impacted hundreds of thousands of fans.

Macklemore responded to being dropped from the tour on Instagram, seemingly placing blame on New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, though details of this claim are not specified.

The Israeli American Council had condemned Macklemore's pro-Palestine stance and issued a petition for his removal from the tour. Ed Sheeran's team and Macklemore have not provided further comments on the matter beyond Macklemore's Instagram post.

Brief written by urgent.news from Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Stereogum, TheWrap — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.