The Macklemore controversy has added another wrinkle as pop star Ed Sheeran is now denying that he had anything to do with firing the rapper from his tour due to Macklemore’s constant stream pro-Palestine and anti-Israel comments from the stage.
On Monday, the “Thrift Shop” singer was released from his contract for the final eight appearances on Sheeran’s “Loop Tour,” which is set to run through December. After being fired, the rapper ripped Sheeran for the decision in comments to social media, and hinted that their friendship might not survive the situation.
But Sheeran is now laying the whole thing on the tour promoter, according to The Wrap.
“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision. It was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me. I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living,” Sheeran says.
Sheeran also said he is “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine.”
Sheeran added that stadiums threatened to cancel Sheeran’s tour dates if they kept Macklemore on the program. He went on the claim that he “spoke with the venues at length all week to try and build a bridge,” but was unable to move some of them — especially Robert Kraft.
It is certainly true that criticism of Macklemore’s anti-Israel rants rose up among other sources surrounding the tour. Billionaire NFL owner Robert Kraft was disgusted by Macklemore’s constant stream of attacks on stage and told Sheeran’s tour manager that he would not permit the rapper to appear in his Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts.
Kraft, who also runs a non-profit organization that fights anti-Jewish hate, reportedly convinced the operators of the seven other venues where Macklemore was set to appear to contact Sheeran’s touring company to demand that Macklemore be fired.
While Kraft offered to sit down with Macklemore to explain where he is wrong about Israel, he also said he could not allow the hate Macklemore is spreading be pushed on the stage of the stadium he owns.
Pop star Pink also added her voice to the controversy over the rapper by initially reposting to her social media criticism off the rapper’s anti-Israel comments.
She later came out and said that Macklemore’s invective against Israel “scared me, and it scared people I love.”
But Macklemore has garnered support from some artists, too. And they are turning against Sheeran for dumping the rapper from the tour — or at least for Sheeran’s decision not to fight to keep the rapper.
Dolly Parton’s sister, Stella, for one, agonized over the “genocide” she claims is occurring in Gaza, and wrote on X that, “I’m here to sound the alarm again today as I’ve been doing since 2016. We are in a dire situation when a performer is pulled from a tour for simply calling out genocide in Gaza.”
Others, including the virulently anti-Israel Irish group Kneecap, also came to Macklemore’s side with a social media post showing them standing together with Macklemore in a photo along with the caption “FREE PALESTINE.”
Other Macklemore supporters include singer Paloma Faith, Swedish pop star Zara Larsson, the rock band Garbage, Kehlani, Australia’s Toni Watson, and more.
Still, detractors point out that Macklemore has taken the stage pushing antisemitic tropes, including donning a giant nose and fake beard for one recent concert.
At that same event, he was seen giving a Nazi salute while dressed as a stereotypical Jew.
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