A collection of artists and public figures are speaking out after Macklemore‘s removal from Ed Sheeran‘s U.S. tour.
Following the rapper revealing Monday (Sept. 14) that he had been dropped from the remainder of Sheeran’s Loop Tour following his repeated onstage calls to “Free Palestine,” a number of people have rallied behind him.
The controversy began after Macklemore used his opening set at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium earlier this month to call for the liberation of Palestine, telling the crowd that he wanted the words “Free Palestine” to reach people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. His comments prompted backlash and a petition calling for him to be removed from the tour.
On Monday, Messina Touring Group, the promoter of Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, confirmed that venues on upcoming dates would not allow concerts to proceed with Macklemore on the lineup, saying that keeping him on the bill could result in cancellations affecting hundreds of thousands of fans. Macklemore subsequently shared his own account of what led to the decision, alleging that Robert Kraft had pressured Sheeran over his participation and that other stadium owners joined in the ultimatum.
For Macklemore, however, the controversy isn’t about losing a handful of opening spots on a tour. In his Instagram statement, he argued that the attention should remain on Palestinians living through the war in Gaza and the West Bank.” “I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim,” he wrote. “The victims are the Palestinian people.”
That message quickly found its echoes throughout the music business and beyond.
Ms. Rachel, the children’s educator and YouTube star known for her preschool programming, shared an Instagram post addressed to Sheeran, arguing that the singer had an opportunity to stand against the punishment of artists for expressing support for Palestinians.
“Ed Sheeran had an opportunity [to] show that we won’t be bullied into punishing people for supporting Palestine,” she wrote. “Instead he caved to people who refuse to accept what the world knows. A genocide is happening in Gaza. We all need to speak on it.”
In the caption accompanying the post, Ms. Rachel took the argument one step further, focusing on the children affected by the conflict. “If more than 20,000 white children were killed in another part of the world, everyone would be shouting about it at their concerts,” she wrote. “Treating some children’s lives as less worthy of outage is racist. Silence during a genocide is not neutral.”
The rock band Garbage were similarly blunt in their statement regarding the situation as well. The band shared a screenshot of a Rolling Stone headline reporting Macklemore’s removal, captioning it, “This is madness. Sheer madness.” The group called the decision “so wildly unjust” and defended Macklemore’s comments as neither violent nor hateful.
Garbage also pushed back against the idea that criticizing Israel or calling for Palestinian rights is inherently antisemitic, arguing that Macklemore was being punished for speaking about the treatment of Palestinians rather than expressing hatred toward Jewish people. “Macklemore’s words were not antisemitic,” the band wrote. “Yet he is being punished for simple pleading for the occupation, the oppression and the violence to stop.”
MUNA also weighed in, reposting Rolling Stone‘s Instagram coverage of the news. “Everyone involved in the move to silence free speech about a genocide is utterly pathetic,” the group wrote, adding, “Solidarity with @macklemore.”
R&B star Kehlani also showed her support, commenting a personal message beneath Macklemore’s Instagram statement. “A LOT of venues / owners are rallied together this way,” she commented. “Honored to know you brother. Adore you. Behind you!!!!”
Macklemore made clear that despite his disagreement with Sheeran, he does not view their 13-year friendship as over. He described Sheeran as a friend and “brother” and said he hoped they would continue talking about the issue.
The Loop Tour is scheduled to resume Saturday in Philadelphia without Macklemore. Sheeran has not publicly responded to Macklemore’s statement or the wave of reactions that followed his removal.
Read Macklemore’s full Instagram statement below.
