{
  "id": 7654666,
  "title": "Ed Sheeran's supporting acts quit after Macklemore is kicked off tour for pro-Palestinian stance",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/ed-sheerans-supporting-acts-quit-after-macklemore-is-kicked-off-tour-7654666",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-15T23:27:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/world/20260916/ed-sheerans-supporting-acts-quit-after-macklemore-is-kicked-off-tour-for-pro-palestinian-stance"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Ed Sheeran's North and South American tour faced turmoil on Tuesday as four of his supporting acts withdrew their participation in solidarity with rapper Macklemore. Macklemore was dismissed from the tour following his pro-Palestinian comments during a performance. The news came hours after Sheeran expressed his thoughts on social media, attributing the decision to the tour promoters. In response, Irish musicians Aaron Rowe and Beoga, Danish band Lukas Graham, and Billie Eilish's brother and musical collaborator Finneas announced they would be leaving the tour. Rowe and Lukas Graham were originally scheduled to replace Macklemore on the remaining U.S. dates, while Beoga had been performing with Sheeran and co-writing some of his songs. Finneas took to Instagram to state, \"Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.\"",
  "summary": "NEW YORK — Ed Sheeran’s tour of North and South America was plunged into chaos Tuesday when four of his supporting acts abruptly quit in solidarity with the rapper Macklemore, who was dropped for making pro-Palestinian comments onstage. Hours after Sheeran posted on social media about Macklemore's ouster and attributed the decision to the tour's promoters, Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga, the…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CityNews",
        "title": "Ed Sheeran says dropping Macklemore over rapper’s pro-Palestinian comments was ‘promoter’s decision’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/ed-sheeran-says-dropping-macklemore-over-rappers-pro-palestinian-7603204",
        "published": "2026-09-15T17:16:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Ed Sheeran says dropping Macklemore over rapper’s pro-Palestinian comments was ‘promoter’s decision’",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/ed-sheeran-says-dropping-macklemore-over-rappers-pro-palestinian",
        "published": "2026-09-15T17:16:40.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Ed Sheeran's supporting acts quit after Macklemore is kicked off tour for pro-Palestinian stance",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/ed-sheerans-supporting-acts-quit-after-macklemore-is-kicked-off-tour",
        "published": "2026-09-15T23:17:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Le Monde English",
        "title": "Ed Sheeran's tour in jeopardy after opening acts all quit in support of Macklemore",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/ed-sheerans-tour-in-jeopardy-after-opening-acts-all-quit-in-support",
        "published": "2026-09-15T23:42:07.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}