Massive Attack took aim at Ed Sheeran in an impassioned statement shared following the removal of Macklemore from the singer-songwriter’s tour. The rapper was dropped from the run after his statements in support of Palestinians living in Gaza pushed some venue owners to bar him from performing on their stages, putting the tour at risk.
“No artist should tolerate the censorship of another artist, however many millions of dollars are in play,” Massive Attack said on Instagram. “We stand in solidarity with all artists risking their careers in defence of the rights of the Palestinian people, & against the illegal occupation, apartheid, war crimes & ongoing genocide perpetrated by the State of Israel.” The Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 73,000 as Israeli military operations continue despite an alleged ceasefire, according to the Associated Press.
Massive Attack also pushed back on the apolitical stance Sheeran took while addressing the controversy, in which he said, “I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed.”
“Entertainment can never be bigger than resisting the apartheid & genocide of fellow human beings,” the band said. “‘Neutrality’ in the face of the slaughter of more than 20,000 children can never be neutrality … The arc of state, corporate & media silence that allowed a genocide to take place seeks to coerce high profile artists & actors into that silence.”
The band has been relentless in their advocacy for years. Earlier this year, two band members were banned from Singapore for displaying the Palestinian flag onstage during a concert. In 2024, Massive Attack released a charity EP in the spring titled Ceasefire: In Benefit of Doctors Without Borders to raise money for relief efforts in Gaza. Last year, they launched an alliance for artists who have faced “intimidations from within” the music industry over their support of Palestine. Kneecap, Fontaines D.C., Brian Eno, and Garbage are among those who backed the initiative.
Garbage called the response to Macklemore being dropped from Sheeran’s tour “a major turning point” in the mainstream conversation surrounding Israel and Gaza. “This is a clear and undeniable sign that the global consciousness has shifted. The normalisation of an apartheid state, and the attempts to sanitise or justify its actions, will no longer be tolerated,” the band wrote on Instagram. “Ed, there is only one victim here: the Palestinian people.”
They also commended the support acts who have withdrawn from the Loop tour, which include Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe, as well as fans who are no longer attending the show they purchased tickets for. “Every artist dropping out of the tour, and every fan cancelling their ticket, is choosing to stand with their conscience rather than participate in complicity with apartheid and genocide,” Garbage said. “We must use this moment to strengthen and expand BDS. Not only against artists who cross the picket line to perform in the apartheid state, but against those who refuse to call a thing what it is.”
Last year, Garbage used the backlash from Shirley Manson cursing at an audience member for throwing beach balls on stage to draw attention to the humanitarian crisis. “The only thing that kind of shocks me a little is there’s been more fuss made about me offending beach balls than there has about 20,000 Palestinian kids who are now fucking under the dirt,” Manson said at the time.
Sheeran has only issued one statement in response to the controversy around his tour. In his Instagram post, he reiterated that the decision to remove Macklemore came down to the venues and promoters with whom the rapper’s contract was with. Although it wasn’t his choice, as he said, Sheeran did draw a line between his private approach to politics and the more public action Macklemore took.
“There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics — my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds,” he said. “Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum. I respect Macklemore’s strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes. However, there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: peace.”
