Ed Sheeran, Macklemore Tour Controversy and Fan Responses, Explained

Ed Sheeran and Macklemore are all over the headlines this week — and no, you didn’t somehow wake up in 2013, listening to “Thrift Shop” and “The A Team” on the radio.

The two millennial musicians are now at odds after Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour on September 14, a little over a week after his performances at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium drew headlines — and both support and condemnation — due to his support for Palestinians.

Here’s what went down at the shows, how Sheeran and Macklemore responded, how fans of both artists reacted, and where the tour stands now.

What did Macklemore say at the Ed Sheeran concert?

Macklemore joined Sheeran’s Loop Tour as an opening act on September 4, with his first show taking place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. During his set, Macklemore expressed his support for the Palestinian people.

“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 before performing his song “Hind’s Hall” about the student protests at Columbia University. The song was named for Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in 2024.

He added, “I believe that every human being walking on this earth deserves exactly the same freedom.”

After some backlash online, which ranged from calling the rapper antisemitic to saying that an Ed Sheeran concert wasn’t the right place for his speech, Macklemore stood his ground at his show the following day, September 5, though he did make it clear he wasn’t criticizing all Jewish people.

“Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace, love, for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality,” he said.

On September 12, Pink shared her response to Macklemore’s comments on her Instagram, which garnered a lot of coverage. She felt compelled to speak out after fans noticed a repost of hers on Instagram that apparently called out the “Thrift Shop” rapper.

In her post, Pink said, “Last Sunday I reposted somebody else’s post about Macklemore’s set at Ed Sheeran’s show. It said things in words I didn’t write, and I wouldn’t have chosen all of them.”

Instead, she was choosing to share her own words, especially because, as a Jew, people had assumed her beliefs.

Calling Hamas “a terrorist organization,” she said Palestinians “deserve a future that honors their humanity and their aspirations” and that “protecting innocent life comes first, everywhere.”

But she also criticized Macklemore, writing that he “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.” Pink added that she wasn’t calling for him to be silenced, but wanted to be able to say “that scared me, and it scared people I love” without having those fears dismissed.

Macklemore was dropped from the tour 10 days later

On September 14, the promoters behind the tour, Messina Touring Group, issued a statement that announced Macklemore would no longer be part of the tour.

“As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s US Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming US 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. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates,” the company said in a statement provided to Variety.

While some people online had criticized Macklemore for the stadium performance, others took to the internet to support him after he was dropped from the tour.

What did Macklemore say about being dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour?

Macklemore responded later that day with a multi-slide post on Instagram.

“I am not a victim,” he wrote. “Ed Sheeran is not a victim.”

He added, “Ed is my friend. I’ve known him for 13 years. We’ve shared late nights, studio sessions, and stages. He has this infectious magic about him that I’ve grown to love. I consider him a brother.”

Macklemore cited “media attention surrounding Pink” and his own comments as reasons Robert Kraft, the owner of Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, told Sheeran he would not let him play there if Macklemore remained part of the Loop Tour. He added that Kraft told Sheeran he had “rallied some of the other stadium owners” who would follow suit.

He wrote that Sheeran’s “typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before,” and that he “couldn’t get past his public facing ‘I don’t take sides.'”

“I hope this isn’t the end of my relationship with Ed,” he added. “My door will always be open to continuing that conversation.”

Some fans were outraged that the rapper was dropped, even if they weren’t the biggest fans of Macklemore’s music.

Robert Kraft confirmed Macklemore’s account

In a statement to Rolling Stone on September 14, Kraft confirmed that he told Sheeran and his promoters that Macklemore would not be allowed to perform at Gillette.

He said that the stadium is focused on “providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that all events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech,” and said Macklemore had “crossed that line.”

Kraft added that the rapper had a “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.”

It appeared to reference an incident more than a decade ago, when Macklemore was criticized for performing while apparently dressed as a Jewish caricature. At a 2014 show in Seattle, he wore a black wig, a large, hooked prosthetic nose, and a fake black beard.

He apologized, writing on his website, “The character I dressed up as on Friday had no intended cultural identity or background. I wasn’t attempting to mimic any culture, nor resemble one. A ‘Jewish stereotype’ never crossed my mind.”

“I acknowledge how the costume could, within a context of stereotyping, be ascribed to a Jewish caricature,” he wrote.

Ed Sheeran responded the next day

Sheeran wrote on Instagram that he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine,” and called the “suffering and pain on both sides” a “human tragedy.”

In Sheeran’s version of events, Macklemore asked to join his tour, and Sheeran agreed because he “respects him as an artist.”

The two have had a long working relationship, releasing the collaboration “Growing Up (Sloane’s Song)” in 2015. As recently as 2023, Sheeran called Macklemore “an old friend” and brought him out at a performance in Seattle. “I reached out on Twitter back in the day, and we got to be friends, and now we’ve been friends for about 10 years,” Sheeran said at the time.

Now, the “Shape of You” singer said that after Macklemore’s performances, venues for coming dates said “they would pull shows” if he continued to be an opener. He tried to “build a bridge” between venue owners and his team, but the “venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.”

“Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me,” he wrote.

Sheeran added that his shows have never been political, that he is “not complicit,” and that he has his own “personal views on this devastating conflict.”

Notably, Sheeran is one of our least “online” pop stars, who famously hasn’t had a cellphone since 2015, making this statement rare.

Some people online weren’t impressed with his statement, with one user criticizing his “tactical approach,” saying it “makes him look even more complicit.”

Others rejected this idea — British TV presenter Richard Bacon wrote on X, “Anyone who’s met Ed Sheeran even for five minutes knows he’s a good person with a good heart.”

What’s happening with the Loop Tour now?

After Macklemore’s and Sheeran’s statements, the rest of the opening acts for the Loop Tour fell like dominoes.

First, Aaron Rowe, an Irish musician who had been on the tour since February, dropped out at around 2 p.m. on September 15.

“I don’t take the decision lightly. Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life, I could never thank him enough for this,” he wrote, but he added he can not stand and “allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up.”

“I would lose all respect for myself to carry on as normal,” he wrote.

Around an hour later, Finneas, who’s best known for his work with his sister, Billie Eilish, also dropped out. He was supposed to join the tour’s November and December dates.

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” he wrote.

At around the same time, Sheeran’s backing band, the Irish group Beoga, also left the tour.

Then, the final remaining opening act, Lukas Graham, pulled out of the tour later that day.

Notably, almost all of them said that they were friends with Sheeran and that wouldn’t change.

Fans are now demanding refunds

What happens next remains to be seen.

Sheeran’s tour went on a planned break after the September 5 show, with the next date set for September 19 in Philadelphia.

Some fans on social media demanded refunds after all the opening acts dropped out.

However, Ticketmaster’s refund policy doesn’t explicitly allow for refunds in a situation like this. It says: “All sales are final. Refunds are only available in limited circumstances, based on policies set by the Event Organizer.”

In this case, since the “event organizer” is the one who dropped Macklemore in the first place, a refund seems unlikely.

Ticketmaster told Business Insider that “event organizers determine refund policies,” and referred us to Messina Touring Group or AEG regarding refunds. They have not responded to a request for comment.

All that’s left to do is wait and see if the show goes on this Friday.