Culture 5 min read By Mason Emerson
Support Acts and Backing Band Exit Ed Sheeran Tour Over Macklemore Removal
Finneas, Lukas Graham, Beoga and Aaron Rowe have withdrawn from Ed Sheeran's tour in solidarity with Macklemore, who was removed after making pro-Palestine remarks on stage.
Several support acts and a backing band have pulled out of Ed Sheeran's tour in protest of Macklemore's removal from the bill, escalating a dispute that has turned a stadium run into a flashpoint over artistic speech and the politics of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
Finneas, the producer and brother of Billie Eilish, was due to join Sheeran on South American dates later this year but announced his withdrawal on Instagram. «Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,» he wrote. «I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.»
The Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga, along with Danish band Lukas Graham, also stepped away. Rowe had been brought in as one of Macklemore's replacements for the remaining US dates, while Beoga had been serving as Sheeran's touring band after collaborating with him on «Galway Girl» and «Nancy Mulligan» from the album «÷».
Beoga framed its decision in terms of Ireland's own history. «We have made the decision to depart as Ed Sheeran's band on the remaining US Loop tour, following the silencing of Macklemore by zionist lobbies,» the band wrote. «We are Irish people who understand colonialism. As founding members of the Irish Artists for Palestine movement, we are committed activists for justice and will continue to be.»
Rowe echoed that sentiment, writing that he could not «stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children.» Lukas Graham thanked Sheeran for the opportunity but added: «Money doesn't give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody's bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we're allowed to acknowledge.»
The withdrawals follow Macklemore's removal from the tour after he delivered an impassioned speech from the stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, telling the crowd he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know «they have not been forgotten.» He added: «I believe that every human being walking on this earth deserves exactly the same freedom,» and led a chant of «Free Palestine, free Cuba, Congo, Sudan and Iran,» before performing his pro-Palestine track «Hind's Hall» while footage of Gaza played onscreen.
The Israeli-American Council had called for Macklemore's removal, claiming he used his platform to «advance a one-sided political agenda.» Macklemore responded that striving for equality «should never be controversial,» but was dropped from the remaining dates nonetheless. In a lengthy statement, he said Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, had launched a campaign to force Sheeran to drop him or the shows could not go ahead.
Kraft confirmed his role, saying the venue «does not provide a platform for hate speech.» He cited Macklemore's onstage material and what he described as a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery, determining that his participation in the September 25 and 26 concerts at Gillette Stadium «would cross that line.» Kraft added that the decision was «not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians,» but that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas.
Sheeran said he was «not complicit» in the decision and had spent the past week «trying to build bridges, to find a solution» but was «unable to do so.» He has not yet responded to the support acts pulling out.
Macklemore, for his part, rejected the framing of himself as a victim. «I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim,» he told fans. «The victims are the Palestinian people.» He said more than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone, adding: «People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don't lose sight of that.»
