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Last week, Macklemore shared a “Free Palestine” message while opening for Ed Sheeran’s tour.
The audience applauded in support. Some, like Pink, pitched a fit, accusing the rapper of “antisemitism” for opposing genocide. (No, it doesn’t really make sense.)
Now, he has been removed from future tour dates, sending a chilling message within the music industry and beyond.
The legal implications of this case are pretty interesting. We’ll explain.
‘Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates’
Unfortunately, Macklemore has been booted from the remainder of Ed Sheeran’s tour.
(A few years ago, we could not have imagined feeling invested in the rapper or this tour, yet here we are.)
The cause is that multiple venues at which they were scheduled to play allegedly threatened to ban the tour altogether if the rapper remained part of the lineup.
That’s complex and may lead to legal issues (more on that later).
First, let’s delve into exactly what the tour’s promoter is saying happened.
Messina Touring Group, the US promoter of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, explained to Rolling Stone how it went down.
“As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour,” MTG explained, “we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.”
This is a situation “which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.”
A little vaguely, MTG confirmed: “After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
The rapper was supposed to appear at eight of the tour’s 10 remaining US shows. Now, he’s out.
#FreePalestine 🇵🇸
I support Macklemore. What he said, needed to be heard. Stop this genocide.— MadGreek 🧿 (@madgreek2024.bsky.social) September 9, 2026 at 4:35 PM
What did Macklemore say to get into ‘trouble’ like this?
To put it simply, Macklemore told the crowd “free Palestine,” referring to the plight of Palestinians who live under apartheid, settlement, bombing, and are well beyond the threshold for genocide by any reasonable metric as Israel continues to wage a campaign of terror upon a captive population.
He also played “Hind’s Hall,” a protest song about the ongoing atrocities.
Pro-Zionism organizations began to claim that the rapper’s statements were “antisemitic.”
This critique is, in and of itself, antisemitism, as it conflates the Jewish people — a vast and diverse array of people with a shared heritage and a tapestry of shared histories — with the criminal actions of the monstrous Israeli regime.
Pink was among those who shared this deplorable message. That said, even she clarified that she was not calling for Macklemore’s firing.
A couple of the studios remaining on Sheeran’s tour are privately owned. Within certain legal limits, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough can do whatever they like.
However, that is not the case with all or even most of the stadiums remaining on the tour. Many of them are operated, at least in part, by the government.
The United States government is not allowed to discriminate against people based upon their free speech. The First Amendment could be a major issue.
Unfortunately, any settlement through the courts will likely happen long after these tour dates are over.
Still, it’s nice to think that the rapper could win big in court on solid constitutional grounds. We certainly hope that he presses the issue.
Macklemore has been a vocal advocate for Palestinian rights and critic of U.S. foreign policy since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza.
“It’s my moral obligation,” says Macklemore. “I’m not going to stop.”
— Democracy Now! (@democracynow.org) March 28, 2025 at 9:38 AM
The double standards are obvious
By the way, as Rolling Stone notes, one of the stadiums — Raymond James Stadium in Tampa — recently allowed Kanye West to perform.
Interesting when the Hitler enthusiast isn’t too antisemitic to play, but the guy who opposes genocide is a dealbreaker.
It almost sounds like this isn’t really about protecting Jews or about antisemitism, but something else. Something less noble. Something less good.
Now, Macklemore is pointing the finger at Robert Kraft specifically as the ringleader of this, to be blunt, cruel and unjust crusade against the simplest appeal to decency.
Kraft is one of the private stadium owners. Can the folks whom he allegedly roped into this vileness however say the same? We hope that he will take them to court.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: thehollywoodgossip.com
