Ed Sheeran said Tuesday that Macklemore was dropped from his tour because the promoter made the call, after venues objected to the rapper’s pro-Palestinian statements. The split turned on a question that now sits at the center of the dispute: who decided that Macklemore could not stay on the bill?
The removal affects upcoming dates, and the pressure around those shows surfaced after Macklemore repeatedly shouted “Free Palestine” from the stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month. In a statement posted to Instagram, Sheeran said he had spent the week speaking with venues in an effort to “build a bridge,” but said the “venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.”
Macklemore pushed back on Monday, saying on social media that Sheeran told him Robert Kraft had called and said he would not be allowed to perform at Gillette Stadium later this month. Macklemore said Sheeran told him Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and that they gave Sheeran an ultimatum tied to Sept. 25-26. That account differs from Sheeran’s, which places the final decision with the promoter after venues said they would pull the shows if Macklemore remained on the bill.
Kraft said the decision was made to bar Macklemore from performing at Gillette because of the rapper’s recent actions and material shared from the stage during Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey. He said Gillette is committed to ensuring events do not provide a platform for hate speech and pointed to a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery. He also said advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas, while adding that the move was not meant to diminish the suffering of innocent Palestinians.
The clash now leaves one gap that matters more than the public sparring: Sheeran says the promoter made the final call, but neither he nor Macklemore has named that promoter. What is clear is that the booking changed because venue pressure became stronger than the tour plan, and the result is that Macklemore is out of the upcoming dates linked to Gillette Stadium.
