Macklemore Removed From Ed Sheeran Concerts

By Howie Silbiger

Macklemore has been dropped from the remaining dates of Ed Sheeran’s American tour after several stadiums reportedly told the promoter they would not allow him to perform.

The decision follows Macklemore’s appearances at Sheeran’s September 4 and 5 concerts at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where he used his opening set to make a series of political statements about Israel and Gaza, wore a keffiyeh, performed his anti Israel song Hind’s Hall and displayed pro Palestinian imagery across the stadium screens.

Messina Touring Group, which promotes the American leg of Sheeran’s LOOP Tour, confirmed that Macklemore was removed from the remaining shows after venues hosting upcoming concerts said they would not allow a concert to take place with him on the lineup. The promoter said that keeping him on the bill could have resulted in cancellations affecting hundreds of thousands of ticket holders.

There has been no statement from Sheeran saying that he personally made the decision to remove Macklemore, and neither Sheeran nor Macklemore has publicly explained what happened behind the scenes. The promoter has put the decision squarely on the stadiums.

Macklemore had been scheduled to appear in Philadelphia, Foxborough, Atlanta, Indianapolis, Charlotte, Arlington and Tampa through November.

During the first MetLife show, Macklemore told the crowd that a major reason he wanted to join Sheeran’s tour was so that he could stand inside stadiums and say “Free Palestine.” He then performed Hind’s Hall while images from Gaza and pro Palestinian demonstrations were shown behind him.

At the second show, Macklemore addressed Jewish members of the audience, saying that accusing Israel of apartheid and genocide was not an attack on Jews. He also called for a “Free Lebanon,” “Free Cuba,” “Free Congo” and “Free Sudan,” while attacking U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. One of the messages flashed across the stadium screens read, “Holocaust survivor says stop the genocide in Gaza.”

There is a difference between buying a ticket to hear a performer whose politics you know and buying a ticket to an Ed Sheeran concert only to discover that one of the opening acts has decided to turn his portion of the evening into a political rally. A number of people in the audience were not impressed, and neither were several Jewish organizations.

The Israeli American Council launched a petition calling for Macklemore to be removed from the tour and questioned whether Sheeran’s team had approved the political presentation in advance. StopAntisemitism and the Anti Defamation League also criticized the performance.

Pink, who is Jewish, shared criticism of Macklemore before later making clear that she was not calling for him to be fired. Her objection was not simply that he had said “Free Palestine,” but to the way the presentation was staged and to the response toward Jews who said they found it threatening or offensive.

Macklemore did not back away from any of it. He posted video from the concert and wrote that wanting all people to be treated equally should never be controversial.

His involvement in anti Israel activism is nothing new. Hind’s Hall was released in 2024 in support of protesters at Columbia University who occupied Hamilton Hall and renamed it after Hind Rajab, a Palestinian girl killed during the Gaza war. Macklemore pledged proceeds from the song to UNRWA and later released a second version.

This is also not the first time one of his political performances has been followed by the loss of a booking. In 2024, Macklemore was removed from the Neon City Festival in Las Vegas shortly after appearing at a pro Palestinian benefit concert in Seattle where he shouted “Fuck America.” Festival organizers blamed “unforeseen circumstances” and never formally confirmed that the remark was the reason.

Macklemore also has an older controversy hanging over him. In 2014 he appeared onstage wearing a dark wig, beard and oversized prosthetic nose, an outfit that was widely condemned as a Jewish caricature. He denied that was what he intended and later apologized.

There is another part of this story that could become considerably more interesting. Several of the stadiums that reportedly refused to allow Macklemore to perform are publicly owned or controlled.

Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis is operated through public authorities. Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta is owned by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. AT&T Stadium is owned by the City of Arlington, while Raymond James Stadium in Tampa is owned by Hillsborough County and managed by a public sports authority.

Raymond James Stadium is probably the most curious of the group. Earlier this year there were calls to cancel concerts by Kanye West, now known as Ye, because of his history of antisemitic statements. The concerts went ahead, with legal arguments raised that a publicly controlled venue could have constitutional problems if it cancelled a performer solely because of his political views or what he might say onstage.

Now the promoter of Sheeran’s tour says that Raymond James is among the venues that would not allow Macklemore to perform. The stadium has not explained why, and it remains unclear whether every venue reached the same decision independently or whether objections from some of the stadiums led the promoter to simply remove Macklemore from the tour altogether.

For Macklemore, the result is fairly simple. He was invited onto Ed Sheeran’s tour as an opening act and decided to use that stage for something considerably larger than opening for Ed Sheeran.

The stadiums apparently decided that was unacceptable.