Unpacking the 12 days that threw Ed Sheeran's tour into chaos

Ed Sheeran's upcoming shows look to have no support acts after the remaining openers, and a touring band he shares songs with, pulled out in solidarity with Macklemore after he was removed from remaining tour dates."After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates," Messina Touring Group told Rolling Stone.American rapper Macklemore, real name Ben Haggerty, has been condemned for pro-Palestinian comments at recent shows.Irish touring band Beoga and Irish support act Aaron Rowe, Danish group Lukas Graham and US musician Finneas have now all said they would longer participate in the tour.Beoga had been performing several songs, including some the Irish folk band co-wrote with Sheeran, around the middle of each set.The support of Macklemore by these fellow artists has put pressure on Sheeran who is set to resume the tour this weekend.And the deterioration of Macklemore's time on Sheeran's Loop tour has played out via the media in real time, with other industry voices weighing in.So how did it get to this point?September 4: 'Free Palestine' comments at showMacklemore has always been one of the music industry's most vocal critics of the Israel-Gaza conflict.In 2024 he released a song called Hind's Hall, delivered in solidarity with US students protesting on university campuses for a ceasefire in Gaza."Block the barricade until Palestine is free," he raps on the track.But this particular fallout started on September 4 at his opening show for the tour in New Jersey.When introducing Hind's Hall he said: "A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine."The next day he echoed similar sentiments and said criticising Israel is no criticism of "my Jewish brothers and sisters".September 6: Petition launchedAfter the shows in New Jersey concluded, the Israeli American Council launched a petition calling for the removal of Macklemore from Sheeran's line-up."Ed Sheeran, do not allow your stage to be used to divide people or spread one-sided political propaganda!" a post by the Israeli American Council on Instagram read."At Ed Sheeran's September 4 MetLife show, Macklemore used his opening set to push a one-sided political message through Hind's Hall, imagery from Gaza, and inflammatory and disputed political claims."Freedom of expression does not give anyone the right to turn someone else's stage into a platform for political propaganda."September 7: Macklemore releases statementIn response to the petition, Macklemore posted a video of him performing at the stadium with the caption: "Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial."Macklemore is known for incorporating his activism and pro-Palestinian stance in shows. (Instagram)September 11: Pink gets involvedEnter the singer Pink, who released an extensive statement on her Instagram account criticising the rapper's comments.The Jewish singer said she had reposted content that was critical of Macklemore earlier in the week and wanted to speak on the topic in her own words."Of course I don't speak for Israel, or for any government," she said."I never have. What I said in October 2023 is still exactly what I believe: Hamas is a terrorist organisation. "Palestinians deserve a future that honours their humanity and their aspirations. Protecting innocent life comes first, everywhere, and nobody should ever celebrate the death of a child. Anybody's child."Jewish artist Pink released a statement on Instagram. (Reuters)She went on to recall a costume worn by Macklemore in 2014 that was widely criticised as antisemitic."He apologised, and I let it go, because that's what we do. We let it go," Pink wrote."Then last weekend he stood in front of a stadium full of music-loving families, with violent images from a war on the screens, dedicated a song to the movement of his choice, and then took the mic to tell all of the Jews in the stadium that it wasn't about them."You don't get to decide that for us."September 14: Macklemore dropped from tourA few days later Mackelmore announced that after a week of "difficult conversations" with Sheeran that he was dropped from his eight remaining shows on the Loop tour.Macklemore insisted the talks were rooted in "love and respect" but ended in a place of "fundamental disagreement" after he was told Robert Kraft, the owner of the next stadium Macklemore was to play at, asked Sheeran to remove him."Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium," Mackelmore wrote."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."The rapper said Sheeran was in a "f***ed up position"."His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before," Macklemore wrote."He told me that the words 'Free Palestine' and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with."I told him that if those words were more offensive that 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 said Sheeran "couldn't get past his public facing 'I don't take sides'."The statement also questioned why this was an issue, as Macklemore had been vocal about the issue for three years.Macklemore has been dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour. (Reuters: Steve Marcus)After he was named in the statement by Macklemore, Robert Kraft, who owns Gilette stadium and the New England Patriots Football Stadium shared his own statement."Based on Macklemore's recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran's shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line," Kraft said in a statement shared with ESPN.Messina Touring Group, promoter of the US leg of Sheeran's Loop Tour, then told Rolling Stone that venue owners on the upcoming US tour dates notified the promoters they would not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore in the line-up.September 15: Sheeran speaks out, support acts leaveIn response, Sheeran released his own statement on Instagram.He started out by saying he was "appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine" and that Macklemore asked to join his tour and was given the freedom to select his set list.He said the decision to pull Macklemore was the promoter's decision."I was informed that this stance was based on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance rather than everything that was said," Sheeran wrote.He confirmed there was a discussion with Mr Kraft and other venues on the tour."I was also involved in direct talks with promoters along with activists on both sides to try and find a mutual resolution for all, but the venue's and promoter's decision was final," he wrote."I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I do not choose to speak publicly, it doesn't mean I don't have them, and it doesn't mean I don't care."The same day, the remaining support acts pulled out of the tour.Irish acts Beoga and Aaron Rowe, Danish band Lukas Graham, and US artist Finneas posted on Instagram about their decisions.Rowe and Lukas Graham would have been replacements for Macklemore on Sheeran's remaining US dates."Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed," Finneas wrote."I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran."I stand with Palestine and its people."Danish band Lukas Graham wrote they loved Ed but could not carry on with the tour "as things stand"."I'm sorry we won't be there," they wrote."This is a difficult decision but it's one I need to stand by."Where to now?The tour is scheduled to continue on Saturday in Philadelphia and no replacement opening act has been announced.Sheeran has nine more tour dates in North America before moving to South America where he was due to be supported by Finneas.Sheeran took the tour to Australia earlier this year, breaking attendance records for several stadiums.