Things ya cant say.
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https://www.theguardian.com/music/2026/sep/14/macklemore-dropped-ed-sheeran-tour-free-palestine?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
Macklemore has been dropped from the remainder of the US leg of Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour, after the American rapper drew headlines for saying “free Palestine” on stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
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…In a lengthy Instagram post on Monday morning, Macklemore confirmed that Sheeran and his team had decided to remove him from the tour, but noted that he, Sheeran and Pink were not victims. “We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world,” he wrote. “Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.
“The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence,” he added, citing the more than 20,000 children killed in Gaza by the Israeli military since the 7 October 2023 terrorist attacks by Hamas.
Macklemore explained that the decision came after a week of “difficult conversations” with Sheeran, a friend of 13 years whom he considers a “brother”, though “as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can’t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.” According to Macklemore, Sheeran was under pressure from stadium owners rallied by Robert Kraft – the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and their Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where Sheeran was next slated to play – to drop Macklemore from the tour, lest the English singer be barred from their venues. “Ed was in a fucked up position,” the rapper wrote. “He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it had never been before.
“What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years,” he added. “So why is it an issue now? Because now I’m sharing the stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stages in America.”
Macklemore ended his multi-page post by reiterating his call to “free Palestine”: “If those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”
In a statement provided to NBC News, Kraft said the decision to bar Macklemore from Gillette Stadium, which is intended to be “a welcoming environment for all guests”, was made after the comments at the MetLife shows and “a broader history of rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community”.
“I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same – peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate,” he added. He also blamed Hamas for actions that “have caused immeasurable suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike”.
“Much of my time and attention for the last decade has been focused on the fight against antisemitism and hate of all kinds, and I feel a responsibility to stand up when I believe that line has been crossed,” he said. Kraft, who is Jewish, created the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, now known as the Blue Square Alliance Against Hate, in 2019. He is a longtime supporter of the state of Israel as well as its ally in the White House, Donald Trump.
The North American leg of Sheeran’s tour will conclude in November at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, which earlier this year hosted two shows by Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who has a history of antisemitic statements. Tour openers Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe are set to take the stage as planned.
