Macklemore says he has been removed from Ed Sheeran’s North American tour after voicing support for Palestine during a performance at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
The US rapper claimed Sheeran told him that Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, had objected to his appearances and that other stadium owners had joined the opposition. Sheeran has not publicly commented, and a replacement support act has not been announced.
Macklemore made the comments during his Instagram response to the dispute, while insisting that he and Sheeran remained friends. He said the British singer had told him Kraft called to say he was banned from performing at venues operated by his business group.
“Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners, and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues,” he wrote.
Macklemore’s comments at MetLife Stadium
The controversy began during Macklemore’s support performance on September 4, when he said “Free Palestine” while introducing his protest song Hind’s Hall. Footage showing destruction in Gaza was displayed on a screen during the performance.
The song was written after the 2024 campus protests in support of Palestinians and was named after Hind Rajab, a five-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed after Israeli forces opened fire on her family’s car in Gaza City.
“A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so that I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very, very dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” Macklemore said on stage.
He returned the following night with a message aimed at Jewish members of the audience, saying criticism of Israel, apartheid and genocide was not criticism of Jewish people.
“This message is for peace, love, for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality,” he said.
Macklemore said he had expressed support for Palestine on stage for almost three years and questioned why his remarks had become an issue after appearing alongside one of the world’s biggest artists in major US stadiums.
“What I said at MetLife, I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now?” he wrote.
Criticism from Pink and Robert Kraft
The rapper’s performance was criticised by Pink, who is Jewish, and by the US-based campaign group StopAntisemitism. Pink said Macklemore had shown violent images from a war to an audience of music fans before addressing Jewish people in the stadium.
“You don’t get to decide that for us,” she said.
Pink also referred to Macklemore’s apology in 2014 over a costume featuring a black wig, beard and fake hooked nose, which critics had described as antisemitic. Macklemore said in response that the victims were Palestinians who had been killed, starved, displaced and subjected to violence.
Kraft said Macklemore had been barred from Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts because of his recent remarks and what he described as a wider history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that had caused deep offence to the Jewish community.
He said the decision was not intended to diminish the suffering of Palestinians or deny anyone the right to advocate for them, but added that Macklemore’s campaigning should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure Hamas’s responsibility.
The tour promoter, Messina Touring Group, said venues had told it they would not allow concerts to go ahead with Macklemore on the bill. It said that would otherwise risk the cancellation of the tour and affect hundreds of thousands of fans.
Macklemore said Sheeran had been placed in a difficult position because of his long-standing apolitical stance. He also said the singer had told him that the words “Free Palestine” and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to people he had spoken to.
The two artists have been friends for 13 years, according to Macklemore. He said their friendship could not change his responsibility to explain what had happened.
