Ed Sheeran has been at the centre of a growing media storm, which has captured the world's attention after all of the remaining support acts including his band, have withdrawn from his US “Loop” tour.
The withdrawals started after rapper Macklemore was ejected from the tour line-up over comments he made in support of Palestinians during his opening sets.
The walkout is the latest turn in a row that started weeks earlier with a social media repost from singer Pink, and has since drawn in a Patriots owner, an Israeli advocacy group’s petition, and now four departing acts.
The roots of the Ed Sheeran tour drama
The dispute unfolds against the background of war in Gaza. Israel is facing an International Court of Justice (ICJ) case of genocide which was brought by South Africa. The ICJ is the top court of the United Nations.
South Africa launched a case (ICJ) against Israel in December 2023 for what it said were "genocidal" acts in Gaza, seeking an emergency suspension of its military campaign.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, both before and after the October 7th attack led by Hamas, has displaced most of the Palestinian population, and killed tens of thousands Palestinians, according to the territory’s health ministry.
The war has continued to divide public opinion well beyond the region.
Sheeran is the latest to have been caught up in what has become a morality litmus test.
Macklemore’s opening slot for Sheeran at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium earlier this month is where the controversy started. He reportedly performed his 2024 song “Hind’s Hall”, written in tribute to Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl whose death sparked international outrage. He also shouted “Free Palestine” from the stage.
The Israeli-American Council responded with a petition demanding his removal from the rest of the tour, however, the “Same Love” hitmaker didn’t back down.
During a show that followed, Macklemore kept up the message, telling the audience “to all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you”.
By Monday September 7, he’d taken to social media to double down further, writing that wanting all humans treated equally “should never be controversial”.
It was around this point that Pink entered the picture, resharing a post calling for Macklemore to be dropped from the tour.
The backlash to that repost would take a week to fully surface, and when it did, she addressed it head-on in a lengthy statement of her own.
Macklemore’s exit from the tour, by his own account, came down to one phone call. In a lengthy Instagram post, he alleged that Patriots owner Robert Kraft phoned Sheeran to say Macklemore would not be welcome at Kraft-owned Gillette Stadium, one of the tour’s scheduled stops.
Kraft, he claimed, had also rallied other stadium owners into giving Sheeran an ultimatum, saying Sheeran should either drop Macklemore, or lose access to their venues entirely.
According to reports, Kraft confirmed his involvement in a statement, saying the decision followed Macklemore’s remarks at the New Jersey shows and what he called “a broader history of rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community”.
He framed it as a matter of principle rather than censorship, adding that Gillette Stadium sought to remain a “welcoming environment for all guests”.
“Much of my time and attention for the last decade has been focused on the fight against anti-Semitism and hate of all kinds, and I feel a responsibility to stand up when I believe that line has been crossed,” he said.
He also said he’d welcome a sit-down with Macklemore to “discuss the facts”. Kraft has spent much of the past decade focused on combating anti-Semitism, having founded the “Foundation to Combat Antisemitism” in 2019, and is a long-time supporter of Israel.
Macklemore, for his part, described Sheeran as caught in a “f***ed up position”, saying the two had a string of difficult conversations that ended in what he called a fundamental disagreement.
According to Macklemore, Sheeran told him the words “Free Palestine” and the imagery of Palestinian flags had been hurtful to people he’d spoken with.
Macklemore’s reply, in his telling, was that if those words carried more offence than the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian children, something was fundamentally disconnected between his own position and theirs.
Palestine Solidarity Alliance spokesperson, Sunny Morgan, said the backlash Macklemore faced was an example of what he described as efforts to silence pro-Palestinian voices in the music industry.
“This is a prime example of how Zionist forces cancel pro-Palestinian voices. The fact that supporting acts have walked away from the Ed Sheeran concert is indicative of something that must be most welcome,” he said.
Sheeran has, meanwhile, denied making the call to remove Macklemore himself.
In his own Instagram statement, he said the decision belonged to his tour’s promoter, “Messina Touring Group”, which had ended Macklemore’s contract after venues warned they would cancel shows outright if he stayed on the line-up.
Sheeran said he’d held prolonged talks with venue managers, Kraft included, but couldn’t find a way through.
He also addressed his own silence on the war directly saying “I am not complicit”.
“I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t care,” he wrote, adding that fans coming to his shows do not expect a political forum.
Still, he said, “I respect Macklemore’s strength of purpose”.
Supporting acts withdraw
That didn't stop the fallout from spreading to the rest of the tour bill.
Finneas, known for his work with sister Billie Eilish, was first to announce he was leaving, posting that “artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed” and declaring, “I stand with Palestine and its people”.
Irish band Beoga followed, said they were quitting “following the silencing of Macklemore by Zionist lobbies”, while noting a decade-long friendship with Sheeran they intended to keep. They described themselves as “Irish people who understand colonialism” and founding members of the “Irish Artists for Palestine” movement.
Fellow Irish artist Aaron Rowe gave similar reasoning, invoking his own country’s history with “genocide, forced famine and violent occupation”, and said he could not “stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide”, despite calling Sheeran a friend who had changed his life.
Danish singer Lukas Graham rounded out the walkout, though without offering the same detailed explanation.
The tour’s remaining US dates are now without a support act altogether, and neither Sheeran nor his promoter has said whether a replacement will be added before the next show.
PSA's Morgan added the withdrawal of other artists and members of the tour team was significant, arguing that it showed growing opposition to as Israel’s genocide, as well as the occupation and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
“We welcome Macklemore’s stance and we wish that we see more of that from artists across the world,” he said.