Macklemore Removed From Ed Sheeran Tour After Pro-Palestine Performances

Macklemore's run as the opening act for Ed Sheeran's U.S. stadium tour ended abruptly in mid-September after he used the platform to deliver pro-Palestinian speeches and performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4 and 5. During those two nights, he wore a keffiyeh, displayed footage of destruction in Gaza, performed a song called "Hind's Hall" that includes lyrics accusing Israel of genocide, and led the crowd in chants demanding a free Palestine. What began as a high-profile opening slot became a flashpoint that would ripple across the entire tour.

The fallout moved quickly. Multiple venue operators along the remaining tour dates signaled they would not host Macklemore, and the situation crystallized when Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and operator of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, formally barred him from performing at the two scheduled shows on September 25 and 26. Messina Touring Group, the tour promoter, confirmed that Macklemore's removal extended to all remaining U.S. dates. Eight of the ten remaining stops were scheduled for NFL stadiums, meaning the decision effectively ended his participation in the tour.

Kraft's statement, shared with ESPN, framed the decision as a matter of venue policy and community responsibility. He cited Macklemore's recent stage behavior, the material he had shared during the New Jersey performances, and what Kraft characterized as a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that he believed had been deeply offensive to the Jewish community. Kraft, who founded the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism in 2019, emphasized that Gillette Stadium maintained a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held there did not provide a platform for hate speech.

The controversy drew on a history that extended beyond the recent tour dates. In May 2014, Macklemore had performed in Seattle wearing a bushy black beard, a dark wig, and a large prosthetic nose. Civil rights groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, condemned the costume as resembling historical anti-Jewish caricatures. Macklemore had claimed at the time that the outfit was a random coincidence. That incident resurfaced as critics pointed to what they saw as a pattern of selective political messaging—Macklemore's condemnation of Israel from the stage, they argued, routinely omitted any acknowledgment of the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks by Hamas that had sparked the current war.

Kraft's statement went further, addressing what he viewed as an incomplete framing of the conflict. He wrote that his decision was not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf, but that such advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas, a designated terrorist organization whose actions had caused immeasurable suffering. He argued that supporting innocent civilians while standing firmly against Hamas and antisemitism should not be mutually exclusive, and he extended an invitation to Macklemore to sit down and discuss the facts, saying their ultimate goal was the same: peace for all people and an end to all hate.

Macklemore responded on social media, blaming venue operators and Kraft for his removal while acknowledging that Ed Sheeran had been placed in a difficult position. He did not accept Kraft's characterization of his comments as hate speech. Instead, he framed his removal as a price he was willing to pay for using a massive platform to promote his political message. Macklemore had previously stated that Sheeran had told him Kraft had rallied other stadium owners against keeping him on the tour, though this account came from Macklemore's own assertion rather than independent confirmation.