Four Support Acts Exit Ed Sheeran Tour After Macklemore's Removal

Four supporting acts, including all of the scheduled opening performers, withdrew from Ed Sheeran's tour on Tuesday after the rapper Macklemore was removed from the bill over pro-Palestinian remarks he made onstage.

The departures came hours after Sheeran said in a social media post that Macklemore's exit was the promoter's decision and not his own. The Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga, the Danish band Lukas Graham and the American artist Finneas each announced on Instagram that they were pulling out.

Rowe had been lined up as one of Macklemore's replacements for the remaining U.S. dates, while Beoga was serving as Sheeran's touring band. Finneas, the brother and musical collaborator of Billie Eilish, had been due to join the tour in South America later this year.

Rowe and Beoga both invoked Ireland's history in explaining their decisions. Beoga said its members were "Irish people who understand colonialism" and described themselves as committed activists for justice as founding members of the Irish Artists for Palestine movement. Rowe, who called Sheeran a friend who had changed his life, said that as Irish people they knew "all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation," and that he could not stand by while billionaires used their power to silence those who speak up.

Finneas, who has previously advocated publicly for Palestinians, said artists must not be silenced when they speak for the oppressed. Lukas Graham thanked Sheeran and called the choice difficult, adding that money should not determine who gets to speak or which suffering is acknowledged — an apparent reference to the role of billionaire Robert Kraft in Macklemore's removal.

Sheeran wrote that he would never let down fans who had made plans, nor abandon the touring crew and other support acts who depend on him for work. He said he had spoken with the venues at length during the week to try to build a bridge, but that the venues' and promoter's decision was final. The Messina Touring Group, the promoter, did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment, and Macklemore's publicist also did not immediately respond.

Sheeran's statement followed Macklemore's own account a day earlier. Macklemore said he was removed from the Loop Tour after exclaiming "Free Palestine!" during a Sept. 5 show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey while introducing his protest song "Hind's Hall." During that concert he said criticism of Israel, of apartheid and opposition to genocide were in no way criticism of Jewish people.

Macklemore said several U.S. venues told the promoter they would bar him from performing as Sheeran's opening act, rallied by Kraft, the owner of the NFL's New England Patriots, whose Kraft Group also owns Gillette Stadium. In a statement, Kraft said the decision to cancel Macklemore stemmed from his recent comments and what he described as a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that he said had been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.

A growing number of organizations and experts say Israel's wartime actions in Gaza amount to genocide, an accusation Israel rejects.

Macklemore had been scheduled to perform at eight of the 10 remaining shows on Sheeran's stadium tour, which is set to resume Saturday in Philadelphia and includes stops at Gillette Stadium, Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Indianapolis's Lucas Oil Stadium. Sheeran said he tries to use his music to bring people of all backgrounds together and that while he holds personal views on what he called this devastating conflict, he chooses not to air them publicly because audiences do not expect a political forum. He added that he is not complicit, that he respected Macklemore's strength of purpose, and that there is room for multiple approaches to the same end of peace.