Macklemore says Ed Sheeran ‘Free Palestine’ was ‘hurtful to a lot of people’

“Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour,” Macklemore wrote. He claimed Sheeran, whose Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium, would not allow Macklemore to perform at the venue., Sheeran also said Kraft had contacted other stadium owners and that they had given him an ultimatum over Macklemore’s involvement in the tour.

Macklemore said Sheeran “Free Palestine” and the Palestinian flag were “hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with”. “I words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood,” Macklemore wrote.

Messina Touring Group, the concert promoter for Sheeran’s US Loop Tour, confirmed on September 14 that Macklemore would not perform at the remaining support dates.

“As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans,” the statement said.

Macklemore’s September 4 speech included a call to “Free Palestine”, “free Lebanon” and “free Cuba”, alongside a message supporting peace, dignity, respect and equality. View this post on Instagram