15.9.2026
American rapper Macklemore said has been dropped from pop star Ed Sheeran’s US tour after his pro-Palestinian comments and “Free Palestine” remarks during a September 4 concert at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Macklemore wrote on Instagram he and Sheeran had “some difficult conversations this past week”.
Messina Touring Group, promoter of the US leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, told Rolling Stone that venue owners on the upcoming US tour dates notified the promoters they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore in the lineup.
“After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates,” Messina Touring Group said. Sheeran had no immediate comment.
Macklemore has long been pro-Palestinian and a critic of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of the West Bank.
In 2024, Macklemore released “Hind’s Hall”, a protest anthem in solidarity with pro-Palestinian demonstrators and in memory of 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli troops in Gaza. Israel’s military said last month it had opened a criminal investigation into her killing, though rights groups say such probes rarely lead to convictions.
“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’;” Macklemore said earlier this month.
“I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them,” Macklemore had said during the concert.
Macklemore, a Grammy-winning artist, was on the bill to perform at eight of the 10 shows Sheeran has left on his stadium tour, which will resume on September 19 in Philadelphia, according to Variety. AFP
Macklemore...speaking for Palestine.