Four supporting acts on Ed Sheeran’s “Loop Tour” walked off the tour Tuesday after the British singer’s promoter dropped rapper Macklemore for making pro-Palestinian comments during a show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Finneas, the producer known for his work with sister Billie Eilish, along with Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga, and Danish group Lukas Graham, all announced on social media that they were leaving the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
Earlier this month at MetLife Stadium, Macklemore shouted “Free Palestine!” onstage and told Palestinians they were “not forgotten.” Days later, he was pulled from the tour.
Sheeran has publicly denied ordering the move himself. “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine,” he wrote in a lengthy Instagram post, saying the promoter, Messina Touring Group, ended Macklemore’s contract after venues warned they would cancel shows outright if the rapper stayed on the bill.
Sheeran said he personally tried to talk venue operators out of it, including Robert Kraft, the owner of Gillette Stadium and the New England Patriots, but could not resolve the standoff.
Openers push back
Finneas, who has spoken out for Palestinians before, wrote Tuesday that “artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” adding: “I stand with Palestine and its people.”
Beoga, the Irish traditional band, said it was quitting “following the silencing of Macklemore by zionist lobbies.” The group said it had been friends with Sheeran for a decade and would remain so, but added: “we are Irish people who understand colonialism,” and identified its members as founding activists in the Irish Artists for Palestine movement.
Aaron Rowe, another Irish performer on the bill, made a similar case. “As Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation,” he wrote, calling Sheeran a friend who “has changed my life” but saying: “I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide.”
“I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t care.” — Ed Sheeran
Sheeran said he does not treat his concerts as political forums but respects “Macklemore’s strength of purpose.”
Who pulled the trigger
Macklemore, for his part, posted Monday that Sheeran’s camp was not behind his removal. He said Kraft contacted Sheeran directly to say the rapper would not be permitted onstage, and that Kraft pressed other venues to demand the same exclusion.
Kraft confirmed in a statement that Gillette Stadium would “not provide a platform for hate speech.”
Macklemore, best known for “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us,” has been outspoken on the issue before. In 2024 he released “Hind’s Hall,” a song named for Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl whose death drew international attention.
