Macklemore dropped from Ed Sheeran tour following Palestine advocacy

Gillette Stadium owner cites concerns over Macklemore’s rhetoric as reason for barring him from performances.

Macklemore, shown here at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia in 2024, has been dropped from a music tour after expressing pro-Palestinian views on stage [File: Morgan Hancock/Getty Images]

Billionaire Robert Kraft has confirmed that Macklemore has been barred from Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, after the rapper said his support for Palestine led to his being dropped from pop star Ed Sheeran’s tour.

Kraft said in a statement received by Al Jazeera on Monday that Macklemore’s recent performances and what he described as a “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery” led Gillette Stadium, which is owned and operated by the Kraft group, to determine that his appearances there on September 25 and 26 “would cross that line”.

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“This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf,” Kraft said. “But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas … whose horrific actions have caused immeasurable suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike.”

Kraft’s statement came after Macklemore claimed Sheeran informed him that Kraft was barring him from performing at Gillette Stadium. Macklemore also alleged that Kraft had rallied other stadium owners to issue an ultimatum: “If Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”

Kraft did not directly address the claim that he had contacted other stadium owners.

Macklemore made the allegations in a lengthy Instagram statement on Monday, the same day promoter Messina Touring Group confirmed that venues had refused to host upcoming shows with the rapper on the lineup.

“I’m not sure how to start this. So I’m going to speak from the heart and share the truth,” Macklemore wrote. “Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.”

But Macklemore said neither he nor Sheeran, nor singer Pink, who had reposted criticism of his performance, were the victims in the controversy.

Messina Touring Group, the tour promoter, confirmed Macklemore’s removal from the tour in a statement to Rolling Stone magazine on Monday⁠.

“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,” the Messina Touring Group said. “After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”

Al Jazeera has not independently verified Macklemore’s account, and neither Sheeran nor his press office has commented.

‘I don’t take sides’

Macklemore described Sheeran as a close friend of 13 years and said the two had several difficult conversations over the past week.

“He couldn’t get past his public-facing, ‘I don’t take sides,’” Macklemore wrote, referring to Sheeran’s reluctance to take a public stance on Israel’s war on Gaza.

The controversy began after Macklemore’s performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4 and 5, where he repeatedly voiced support for Palestinians and performed Hind’s Hall , his protest song inspired by the pro-Palestinian student movement.

The Israeli American Council later launched a petition calling for Macklemore to be removed from Sheeran’s tour. Pink also reposted criticism of the performance that called for an apology and ticket refunds.

Macklemore argued that performing alongside one of the world’s biggest artists had made his advocacy more threatening to those who opposed it.

“If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next?” he wrote.

He said he hoped the dispute would not end his friendship with Sheeran, but made clear he did not regret speaking out.

“Free Palestine,” he said.

吉列体育场老板表示，出于对 Macklemore 言论的担忧，禁止他进行演出。

图中是 Macklemore 于 2024 年在澳大利亚墨尔本的 Rod Laver Arena 演出，他因在舞台上表达亲巴勒斯坦观点而被取消了巡回演唱会资格。[图片：Morgan Hancock/Getty Images]

亿万富翁罗伯特·克拉夫特证实，说唱歌手麦克莫尔因支持巴勒斯坦而被流行歌星艾德·希兰的巡演除名，之后他被禁止进入马萨诸塞州福克斯堡的吉列体育场。

克拉夫特周一向半岛电视台发表声明称，麦克莫尔最近的表演以及他所描述的“更广泛的反犹太主义言论和图像”，导致克拉夫特集团拥有和运营的吉列体育场认定，他9月25日和26日在那里的演出“将越过那条界限”。

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克拉夫特说：“这项决定并非意在淡化无辜巴勒斯坦人的苦难，也并非剥夺任何人代表他们发声的权利。但这种发声不应以牺牲犹太社群的利益为代价，也不应掩盖哈马斯的责任……哈马斯的骇人行径给巴勒斯坦人和以色列人都造成了难以估量的苦难。”

在麦克莫尔声称希兰告诉他克拉夫特禁止他在吉列体育场演出后，克拉夫特发表了上述声明。麦克莫尔还指控克拉夫特联合其他体育场馆老板发出最后通牒：“如果麦克莫尔继续巡演，我们将不允许你在我们的场馆演出。”

克拉夫特没有直接回应他是否联系过其他体育场馆所有者的说法。

Macklemore 周一在 Instagram 上发表了一份冗长的声明，提出了这些指控。就在同一天，演出主办方 Messina Touring Group 证实，一些演出场地拒绝举办有这位说唱歌手参演的演出。

“我不知道该如何开口。所以我决定敞开心扉，说出真相，”麦克莫尔写道。“艾德·希兰和他的团队已经决定将我从The Loop巡演中除名。”

但麦克莫尔表示，他和希兰，以及转发批评他表演的歌手Pink，都不是这场争议的受害者。

巡演主办方 Messina Touring Group 周一向《滚石》杂志发表声明，证实 Macklemore 已退出巡演。

“我们已收到美国巡演场馆的通知，他们不允许Macklemore参与演出，这将导致巡演取消，影响数十万歌迷，”Messina巡演集团表示。“经与各方协商，Macklemore将不会参加剩余的演出。”

半岛电视台尚未独立核实麦克莫尔的说法，希兰及其新闻办公室也未对此发表评论。

“我不选边站队”

Macklemore称Sheeran是他13年的挚友，并表示两人在过去一周进行了几次艰难的谈话。

Macklemore 写道：“他始终无法摆脱他公开宣称的‘我不选边站’的态度”，指的是 Sheeran 不愿就以色列对加沙的战争公开表明立场。

这场争议始于 Macklemore 于 9 月 4 日和 5 日在新泽西州 MetLife 体育场的演出，他在演出中多次表达了对巴勒斯坦人的支持，并演唱了他的抗议歌曲《Hind's Hall》，这首歌的灵感来自支持巴勒斯坦的学生运动。

以色列裔美国人理事会随后发起请愿，呼吁将麦克莫尔从希兰的巡演中除名。Pink也转发了对这场演出的批评，要求希兰道歉并退还门票款项。

Macklemore 认为，与世界顶级艺术家之一同台演出，使他的主张对反对者更具威胁性。

他写道：“如果我继续举办演出，高喊‘解放巴勒斯坦’的口号，而艾德也默默地表示支持，观众们热情高涨，无可辩驳地表达了对巴勒斯坦解放的支持，那么下一个站出来发声的艺术家会是谁呢？”

他说，他希望这场争执不会结束他和希兰的友谊，但他也明确表示，他不后悔公开谈论此事。

“解放巴勒斯坦！”他说道。