Sounds like he’s going to be doing the tour by himself now.
A day after Macklemore was kicked off of the US leg of Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour, his backing band and opening acts have announced that they will no longer be appearing on the remaining dates – just days before the tour was set to resume.
The controversy started earlier this month when Macklemore was opening for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and used his performance to deliver his thoughts on the war between Israel and Palestine:
“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.’
I said, ‘Free Palestine!’ 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.”
The entire rant lasted nearly three minutes, and also featured Macklemore expressing his support for Iran and calling ICE a “terrorist organization.” But it was his comments on Palestine that drew the most attention, including from his fellow artists.
Joe Bonamassa took issue with the fact that Macklemore used his spot as an opener to make the show political:
And Pink, who is herself Jewish, also chimed in, calling Hamas a terrorist organization:
Macklemore was scheduled to open for Sheeran on 8 of the 10 shows left on the U.S. leg of the tour, but it was announced yesterday that he had been kicked off the remaining dates. And in a rant posted to his Instagram, the “Thrift Shop” rapper blamed Patriots owner Bob Kraft for his ouster:
“Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners, and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”
He said that he considers Ed Sheeran a brother, but that “our friendship can’t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.”
Kraft later released a statement citing Macklemore’s comments during the MetLife shows, as well as his prior history of dressing up in an offensive stereotypical Jewish costume, as his reason for not allowing the rapper to appear at Gillette Stadium:
“Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.”
But now, it sounds like the show in Foxborough is going to look a lot different – if it happens at all.
Following the announcement that Macklemore had been removed from the tour, openers Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe have both announced that they will be dropping out of the tour, citing their support for Palestine and Kraft’s decision to force Macklemore off the tour.
Graham, a Danish pop star, called the decision a “difficult” one, but says that “money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation,” in reference to Kraft’s threats.
And Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe echoed the sentiment while ending his statement with a message of support for Palestine:
Along with the opening acts, Irish folk band Beoga also announced that they would be dropping out of the tour. The band had previously served as the backing band for Sheeran during one set of the show, and were also co-writers and featured on his 2015 hit “Galway Girl.”
“We have made the decision to depart as Ed Sheeran’s band on the remaining US Loop tour, following the silencing of Macklemore by zionist lobbies. … We have been friends with Ed for over 10 years now and will continue to be. We believe in dialogue as a means of progressing the plight of the Palestinian people.
As musicians, playing to those crowds every night is the stuff of dreams but to play in venues that silence anyone advocating for a Free Palestine is simply not an option for us.”
Along with the acts from the US tour, Finneas, who is the sister of Billie Eilish, has also dropped out of the South American leg that was set to kick off this fall.
What a mess. But if there’s one artist who knows how to perform an entire stadium show solo, it’s him.
