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<\/a><\/p>\nEd Sheeran performs onstage. (Photo by Kevin Mazur\/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Kraft, the Jewish and pro-Israel billionaire who owns the Boston-area stadium where one of the tour stops had been scheduled, said on Monday that he had told Sheeran\u2019s team that Macklemore wouldn\u2019t be allowed to perform there. <\/p>\n
Macklemore was subsequently dropped from the tour following pushback from unnamed venues that \u201cwill not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup,\u201d Rolling Stone reported on Monday.<\/p>\n
At a Macklemore performance at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., earlier this month, the rapper declared \u201cFree Palestine\u201d before performing his 2024 song, \u201cHind\u2019s Hall,\u201d referring to Columbia University\u2019s Hamilton Hall. Pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the building and unofficially renamed it for Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl who was killed during the war in Gaza. Israel is investigating her killing.<\/p>\n
Sheeran said Tuesday that he wasn\u2019t behind the tour promoter\u2019s decision to drop Macklemore.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am not complicit,\u201d Sheeran wrote in a statement on Instagram Tuesday, saying that Macklemore leaving the tour \u201cwas the promoter\u2019s decision, it was not mine.\u201d It was Sheeran\u2019s first public statement on the controversy.<\/p>\n
Hours after Sheeran\u2019s comments, acts began pulling out of the tour.<\/p>\n
His backing band, Beoga, said in an Instagram post that it was leaving the tour \u201cfollowing the silencing of Macklemore by zionist lobbies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe in dialogue as a means of progressing the plight of the Palestinian people,\u201d they added. Beoga\u2019s management did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.<\/p>\n
Kraft\u2019s decision to bar Macklemore from performing at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. got the backing of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston.<\/p>\n
\u201cMr. Kraft drew a clear moral line in the sand about the demonization and offensive conduct that he will not allow in \u2018his home\u2019,\u201d Jeremy Burton, the JCRC CEO, said, referring to the stadium. \u201cHe also showed leadership and complexity \u2026 by rejecting those who would diminish the suffering of innocent Palestine people.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cThis decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf,\u201d Kraft had said in his statement. \u201cTheir pain and loss are real.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other acts scheduled to support Sheeran on the Loop tour, including Aaron Rowe, Finneas and Lukas Graham, also withdrew Tuesday. Rowe and Lukas Graham were supposed to replace Macklemore on the remaining U.S. dates, AP reported.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not yet clear what the fate of the tour is, given the withdrawal of his backing band. At least one Israeli musician joked that he was ready to put together a replacement band for \u201cunlimited beer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheeran\u2019s own note added, \u201cI am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine.\u201d The British singer-songwriter wrote that he had been \u201cinvolved in direct talks\u201d between Kraft and various promoters \u201cto try and find a mutual resolution for all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sheeran didn\u2019t mention Jews in his statement, but noted, \u201cI have always used my platform and music to bring people from all backgrounds and cultures together and this won\u2019t ever change.\u201d <\/p>\n
He also had some veiled criticism of his tourmate\u2019s methods. \u201cThose who come to my shows do not expect a political forum,\u201d Sheeran wrote. \u201cI respect Macklemore\u2019s strength of purpose to stand up for what he believes. However, there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: peace\u2026 If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Israeli-American Council, which organized a boycott against Macklemore following his New Jersey show, criticized Sheeran in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s time to take responsibility for giving a stage to antisemitic messaging,\u201d the IAC said, of Sheeran. \u201cThis isn\u2019t just \u2018criticism of Israel.\u2019 It\u2019s a message that crosses the line between legitimate political criticism and antisemitism. This is Ed Sheeran\u2019s stage, it\u2019s the tour that carries his name \u2014 and so the responsibility for what happens on it is his too.\u201d<\/p>\n