Jack Antonoff has reopened the fight over Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour, arguing that Sheeran should have canceled the whole run rather than let Macklemore be removed after pressure from Robert Kraft and other venue owners. In an interview published Sunday by, Antonoff said Sheeran missed a chance to do something bigger: play for free outside each venue and turn the dispute into a fundraising moment instead of a compromise.
That criticism lands now because the Loop Tour controversy has never really disappeared. Messina Touring Group, the U.S. promoter for the trek, dismissed Macklemore from the supporting lineup in mid-September after backlash over his 'Free Palestine' onstage demonstrations at two shows in New Jersey. Sheeran said at the time that he had been trying to find alternative solutions and keep conversations open, writing that 'There is room for multiple approaches to the same end: peace' and that he wanted to be 'a place of safety and sanctuary.'
Antonoff brushed that off. He said, 'If you think it is [controversial] you’re lost in some other sauce that is so crazy,' and asked, 'They’re going to let some f–king promoter tell me what I can say?' His view was blunt: 'Don’t book me. I’ll play for free outside.' He said Sheeran missed 'a massive, beautiful opportunity' by not standing down entirely and instead letting 'a f–king billionaire tell you what to do.'
The dispute also underlines a wider argument Antonoff has been making for years. He has long voiced support for Palestinians amid the extreme violence in Gaza these past three years, and last year he told Hayley Williams in Rolling Stone that large corporations such as Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, were trying to 'monopolize the whole f–king thing.' In the new interview, he said he has felt 'way more emboldened to say it now' since the Loop trek controversy, and added, 'Live Nation keep missing the point.'
There is still a missing piece at the center of the episode: what, exactly, was on the table before Macklemore was dropped. Sheeran said he had been discussing alternative solutions with Kraft and other venue owners, but those discussions were never fully explained. What is clear is that the fallout kept moving after the dismissal. Macklemore later said he donated the $1 million he made on the short-lived Loop excursion to Palestinian aid, and after that Sheeran and Kraft pledged money to unspecified humanitarian efforts in Gaza. Macklemore also locked in plans for a 'Free Palestine' benefit tour, while Billboard and sought comment from representatives tied to the story.
