Ed Sheeran‘s former support act Aaron Rowe has said people should direct their anger towards “the likes of Robert Kraft”.
Rowe was among the artists to withdraw from Sheeran’s ongoing ‘Loop’ tour last week, after Macklemore was dropped from the shows due to making an impassioned “Free Palestine” speech during a gig at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
He subsequently faced calls for his removal from the tour, including from Pink and the Israeli American Council.
Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft later said he found Macklemore’s comments “deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community”. Sheeran maintained that the final decision to drop the rapper had been made by promoter Messina Touring Group after a number of venues objected to Macklemore appearing.
The decision prompted Rowe, as well as FINNEAS, Lukas Graham and Beoga, to also drop out of the tour.
Now, Rowe has said that any backlash towards Sheeran is being misdirected. In a video shared on social media Friday (September 18), Rowe told his followers that the real issue lies with Kraft.
“I’m gonna be honest, I think youse are all focusing on the wrong person here,” Rowe said in his video on Instagram. “All I keep hearing is Ed Sheeran this, Ed Sheeran that, when youse really should be focusing on the likes of Robert Kraft.”
Irish singer Aaron Rowe, who quit as opening act for Ed Sheeran, goes on rant telling people to target “Zionist lobbies” instead of Ed Sheeran.
“You really should be focusing on the Zionist lobbies that are trying to silence the voices of people who are shouting about genocide.” pic.twitter.com/JlI2BnVObC
— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) September 20, 2026
He continued, “ You should really be focusing on the Zionist lobbies that are trying to silence the voices of people who are shouting about genocide.”
The Irish singer then went on to stick up for Sheeran, who said in an initial statement that he was “not complicit” in Macklemore being silenced and that he was not the one to make the decision to oust the rapper.
“I know Ed’s statement could have been a lot better, and I do think that Macklemore shouldn’t have been pulled off the tour,” Rowe said. “I fully believe it was panic stations over there and they rushed the decision because they didn’t know what to fucking do because they were getting it from all angles.”
Rowe said that he has not been able to speak much with Sheeran, but that “I fully believe he knows that was a mistake.” He added that Sheeran would not have chosen pro-Palestine acts Macklemore, Beoga, BIIRD and others if he had been against their political stances.
“All he has inside of him is kindness,” he said. “That is who Ed Sheeran is. And yes, like every other human being he makes fucking mistakes.”
He said that protesters 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 about genocide.”
Ed Sheeran addresses the controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal from his tour and says, “What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable.”
“Before I play some songs tonight, I hope it’s okay if I say a few words about this last week,” Sheeran said at the top of… pic.twitter.com/ZhtujolkKK
— Variety (@Variety) September 20, 2026
A day after Rowe’s post, Sheeran addressed the row extensively during his live return at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. In a speech, he admitted his “mistakes” and said that the subsequent controversy left him questioning whether he wanted “to be an artist at all”.
During the show, which he said was the “best” of his life, Sheeran also told the crowd he had removed the B-stage, as he was “afraid of what might happen” if he stood in the middle of the crowd.
Macklemore later pledged to donate his entire $1million earnings from the tour to six organisations supporting Palestinians, while Kraft said Sheeran had asked him to match a $2million humanitarian contribution.
Sheeran’s handling of the situation has drawn criticism from numerous musicians. Billy Bragg said he risked “tarnishing” his career and becoming “a pariah”, before later saying he was “not impressed” by what he described as Sheeran’s attempt to “deflect the current storm of criticism”.
Massive Attack said that “‘neutrality’ in the face of the slaughter of more than 20,000 children can never be neutrality”, while Roger Waters called Sheeran a “little prick” and praised Macklemore for doing “the right thing”.
More recently, Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey said Sheeran’s treatment of Macklemore “doesn’t sit right”, while Hayley Williams showed solidarity with the acts who left the tour by adding all four to her pre-show playlist.
