Macklemore dropped from rest of Ed Sheeran's US tour after venues object

Macklemore has been removed from the rest of Ed Sheeran's US Loop Tour, according to the show's promoter, Messina Touring Group. The company told Rolling Stone that venues on the upcoming dates had notified it they would not allow a concert with the rapper on the line-up. It said that would have meant cancelling the tour and affecting hundreds of thousands of fans. After discussions with stakeholders, it said, Macklemore will not perform on the remaining support dates.

The pro-Palestine rapper, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, chanted "Free Palestine" and showed pictures of Gaza earlier in the tour. This happened during a performance of his 2024 song Hinds Hall in front of around 70,000 fans. The Israeli-American Council then launched a petition urging Sheeran to drop him as support act. The petition said the event was a concert, not a political rally, protest or activist event. It also criticised what it called selective imagery, biased messaging and disputed claims presented to a large audience without context.

Macklemore had been due to appear at eight of the ten remaining shows on the US leg. The tour was set to resume on Friday, September 19, in Philadelphia. Rolling Stone reported that the venues that allegedly objected included Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The others were Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.