‘Ed Sheeran is not a victim’: Macklemore on being removed from tour after Free Palestine comment
15 September,2026 08:41 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Macklemore claims he was removed from Ed Sheeran’s US tour after making pro-Palestinian remarks at a New Jersey concert. The rapper said their friendship remains, but he stood by his comments supporting Palestinians
Mucklemore, Ed Sheeran (Pics/X, Instagram)
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Macklemore has claimed he was removed from Ed Sheeran’s US tour following his pro-Palestinian remarks during a recent concert in New Jersey. The rapper said Sheeran and his team made the decision after he spoke in support of Palestinians and criticised the ongoing violence in Gaza, while describing Sheeran as a close friend.
Macklemore’s statement after removal
Macklemore shared a statement on his Instagram, revealing that “Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.”
He went on to say in his twelve-post carousel, “The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow.”
Discussing his relationship with Sheeran himself, Macklemore clarified that he “considers him a brother. And because of that, we’ve had some difficult conversations this past week⦠As I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can’t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.”
Macklemore revealed that “Ed was in a fucked-up position” and that “his typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before.” He then shared that Sheeran “couldn’t get past his public-facing, âI don’t take sides’.” He concluded, “Free Palestine. If those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”
More about Macklemore
Macklemore has long been pro-Palestinian and a critic of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of the West Bank. In 2024, Macklemore released Hind’s Hall, a protest anthem in solidarity with pro-Palestinian demonstrators and in memory of 5-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab, who was killed by Israeli troops in Gaza.
In a brief speech between songs on September 4, the Grammy-winning artist told the audience he wanted the people of Gaza and “the occupied West Bank” to know “we have not forgotten about them”, prompting a petition from the Israeli American Council demanding his removal from the tour.
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