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Ed Sheeran has issued a statement on Macklmore being removed from his tour
Ed Sheeran has spoken out about rapper Macklemore being dropped from his tour. The British pop star has distanced himself from the decision and pinned it on the promoter.
During his set MetLife Stadium earlier in the month, Macklemore repeatedly stated “Free Palestine” while expressing sympathy for those affected by the Israel-Palestine conflict. Days later, tour venues communicated they would pull Sheeran’s shows if Macklemore remained on the bill of his Loop tour.
Ed Sheeran released a statement about Macklemore being dropped from his tour over Israel/Palestine, claimed it was the promoter’s decision
In a statement released this week, Sheeran said the decision came from venues and promoters, not him. “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me,” he wrote.
Sheeran said he spent the week trying to negotiate, including conversations with Robert Kraft, the New England Patriots owner whose Gillette Stadium was set to host Sheeran shows on September 25-26.
“I spoke with the venues at length all week to try and build a bridge,” Sheeran stated, adding that venues objected to “how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance, rather than on everything that was said.”
“I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy,” Sheeran continued. However, he stated that his “audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum.”
“I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed.”
Sheeran said he respects Macklemore’s strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes.”
Macklemore has since claimed that Robert Kraft rallied venue owners to pressure Sheeran into removing him from the tour. The Grammy-winning rapper also defended his activism, stating that his “Free Palestine” remarks were aimed at people in Gaza and the West Bank and were not an attack on Jewish people. He explicitly noted that criticism of Israel is not antisemitism and that “there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed.”