Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour Faces Mass Artist Withdrawal After Macklemore Removal Over Gaza Remarks
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Ed Sheeran's US stadium tour experienced significant disruption when all remaining opening acts withdrew in protest following rapper Macklemore's removal from the lineup. Macklemore was dropped after delivering pro-Palestinian remarks and sharing Gaza-related imagery during performances at MetLife Stadium on September 4 and 5, which sparked a boycott campaign that escalated into broader industry response.
The controversy prompted UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to publicly defend Sheeran, characterising him as having been placed in an "impossible position" amid the competing pressures. Her intervention underscored the political dimensions of the dispute, as the tour became caught between demands around artistic expression and social activism.
- All opening acts withdrew from Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour after Macklemore was removed for making pro-Palestinian statements
- The incident followed a boycott campaign triggered by Macklemore's September performances at MetLife Stadium
- UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy publicly backed Sheeran, describing the situation as placing him in an untenable position
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Ed Sheeran is currently on a stadium tour of the United States called the Loop Tour, which, like most big tours, features supporting acts who perform before the headliner. One of those acts was the rapper Macklemore, best known for songs including "Thrift Shop" and "Same Love", who has also been an outspoken supporter of Palestinian rights.
During two shows at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on 4 and 5 September, Macklemore made pro-Palestinian comments and displayed imagery relating to Gaza, the Palestinian territory that has faced sustained Israeli military action since the war triggered by the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks. He was subsequently dropped from the remainder of the tour, a decision that drew criticism from some quarters and led other supporting artists to pull out in solidarity.
Lisa Nandy is the UK's Culture Secretary, a government minister responsible for arts and media policy. Her decision to speak publicly about Sheeran's situation, a British artist facing a dispute unfolding largely in America, shows how a row over a support-act booking has taken on wider political significance, touching on debates about free expression, the Israel-Gaza conflict, and how public figures navigate taking sides on it.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Those who supported Macklemore's removal, and the wider decision to keep the tour focused rather than politicised, argue that commercial concerts are not the appropriate venue for one-sided political statements, particularly on a conflict as sensitive and contested as Gaza. They contend that paying audiences and fellow performers should not be placed in a position where they feel implicitly pressured to endorse a particular geopolitical stance, and that promoters and headline acts have a legitimate right to manage their brand and protect the experience of a diverse, apolitical fanbase.
The case against
Those who backed Macklemore and withdrew from the tour in solidarity argue that artists have a long tradition of using their platform to speak on matters of conscience, and that removing a performer for expressing sympathy with Palestinian civilians amounts to silencing legitimate humanitarian concern under commercial pressure. They believe that punishing an artist for political speech sets a troubling precedent for free expression in music, and that standing together was a principled response to what they viewed as an unfair and disproportionate sanction against a colleague.
Full account
Ed Sheeran's US stadium tour has been thrown into turmoil after every remaining support act pulled out in solidarity with Macklemore, the American rapper who was removed from the bill following a pro-Palestinian speech. Macklemore had been booked to open for Sheeran at eight of the ten shows still to come on the Loop Tour, which resumes in Philadelphia, but his departure was confirmed this week. In response, Finneas, Myles Smith, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Sheeran's backing band Beoga each announced separately that they would no longer take part in the remaining dates, leaving Sheeran without a single support act for the rest of the run.
The dispute traces back to two shows Macklemore played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on 4 and 5 September, during which he called for Gaza and the West Bank to be freed and displayed images depicting the destruction in Gaza. The remarks drew condemnation from some Jewish organisations and prompted a petition calling for him to be dropped from Sheeran's remaining dates. Macklemore said on Instagram that Sheeran and his team had taken the decision to remove him, and further claimed that Sheeran had told him the move was driven by the billionaire businessman Robert Kraft, whose company owns Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, one of Sheeran's upcoming venues, after Kraft rallied other stadium owners and issued an ultimatum. Sheeran, for his part, said the decision rested with tour promoters rather than himself, explained that Macklemore's comments had unsettled the operators of the venues involved, and stressed that he does not intend to take a personal political position on the matter.
The five acts who withdrew each framed their decision as a stand against efforts to silence artists. Finneas, the musician and producer who is Billie Eilish's brother, said performers speaking up for the oppressed should not be muzzled and declared his support for the Palestinian people. Irish singer Aaron Rowe, who described Sheeran as a close friend and someone who had transformed his career, said his own nation's history of famine and occupation made it impossible for him to accept wealthy figures using their influence to suppress others' voices. The Danish group Lukas Graham argued that artists ought to be free to address war and the deaths of civilians and children regardless of nationality, adding that coming from a small community in Denmark had instilled in them a belief that speaking one's mind should not be curtailed by wealth or status. Sheeran's band Beoga and his friend Myles Smith also confirmed their withdrawal, though fewer details of their statements have emerged.
The row has spilled into British politics, with Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy publicly sympathising with Sheeran while indicating she believed Macklemore's removal had been justified. Speaking to LBC, Nandy said Sheeran had been placed in an extremely difficult position, caught between wanting to showcase his support acts and promoters unwilling to allow political statements at the venues, and praised his charitable work in his hometown of Ipswich. She acknowledged the tension between artistic freedom and commercial pressures, calling it a genuinely hard balance to strike, while also noting that a significant proportion of concertgoers likely held differing views on the issue. Sheeran is reported to have lost a substantial number of social media followers since the controversy erupted, amid speculation that he could face a broader backlash as the row continues.
Where outlets differ
Source 1 concentrates on the artists' own statements and includes Macklemore's specific allegation that Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium, pressured Sheeran into the decision — a claim not mentioned in Source 2.
Source 2 gives more weight to the UK political reaction, particularly Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy's comments to LBC backing Sheeran and endorsing Macklemore's removal, which Source 1 does not cover at all.
Source 2 notes that Macklemore's Gaza remarks were condemned by some Jewish groups and reports that Sheeran has lost followers over the affair, details absent from Source 1.
The two accounts frame Sheeran's own explanation slightly differently: Source 1 has him saying the speech upset venue owners, while Source 2 emphasises his point that the removal was the promoter's decision rather than his own.
Coverage
- Daily Mail — Support acts abandon Ed Sheeran tour over Macklemore free speech row
- Daily Mail — Nandy backs Sheeran after Macklemore dropped from Loop Tour