Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe has spoken out in support of Ed Sheeran and said that people are focusing on the wrong person and issue. Rowe abandoned opening for Sheeran‘s Loop Tour in the wake of Macklemore being forced off it after making onstage comments in support of Palestinians and criticized Israel’s war in Gaza.
“I’m gonna be honest. I think you are all focusing on the wrong person here,” Rowe said in an lengthy, edited video posted to Instagram on Friday. “All I keep hearing is Ed Sheeran this, Ed Sheeran that — when you really should be focusing on the likes of [New England Patriots owner] Robert Kraft. You really should be focusing on the Zionist lobbies that are trying to silence the voices of people who are shouting about genocide, the genocide that is happening in Palestine right now by Israel.”
He acknowledged that Sheeran’s statement in the wake of the fallout “could have been a lot better.” (Sheeran said the decision was not his, but that of the promoter Messina Touring Group, combined with pressure from venues as orchestrated by Kraft.)
Rowe affirmed that he didn’t think Macklemore should’ve been pulled off the tour, and thought that panic led to someone rushing a decision. “I haven’t had a chance to fucking talk to Ed too much, but I fully believe he knows that was a mistake,” he said. Rowe cited that everyone on the lineup supported Palestinians living in Gaza. “Like, if Ed Sheeran was a fucking Zionist, why would he have all these fucking people on the fucking tour?” Rowe added.
Rowe said he believed Sheeran knows he made a mistake and took his home country of Ireland, other governments, the media, and the music industry to task who he said have “done fuck all” about the situation, despite having “so much money and so much power that they’re able to basically shut down any opinion that they don’t agree with.
“You should be using this opportunity to plaster Robert Kraft’s face everywhere, someone who tried to shut down free speech, someone who tried to silence the voices of people who are shouting out genocide,” he added. “That’s what you should be using your energy on, not fucking Ed Sheeran, for fuck’s sake.”
Doubling down on his stance after his removal from the tour, Macklemore pledged to donate $1 million to Palestinian support groups and challenged Kraft “to match” him. Kraft responded with a statement that included a $2 million committment “to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis,” claiming it was a match to a donation from Sheeran. A rep for Sheeran did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment about the statement.
