Ed Sheeran performs at TD Garden on Dec. 14, 2025, in Boston.
Paras Griffin/Getty Images for for iHeartRadio/TNS
On Sept. 14, 2026, American rapper Macklemore announced on Instagram that he was removed from Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour. The reason for his removal is his pro-Palestine remarks he made while on the tour.
Quickly following that came a statement from Ed Sheeran himself, where he explained his actions and how it wasn’t his decision.
Sheeran’s cowardice and lack of accountability disgusts me greatly.
I have always stood with Palestine, even before I could fully fathom the entire situation. All I knew was that innocent people were being killed, and they had no fighting chance.
As I got older, I began learning how deep the history between Israel and Palestine actually was. Palestinians had been living as second class citizens on their own land for years because of Zionist occupation
My stance was solidified even more. I will always stand with Palestine.
Even if one does not truly understand the entire conflict, videos and photos of innocent people and children being murdered should be enough to understand that what is happening here is not a war, it’s a genocide.
The fact that it’s considered “controversial” is disgusting and infuriating. People are dying, and artists are still taking the time to try and explain why they don’t feel the need to speak up against this atrocity.
Sheeran claiming that this was not his decision is actually a joke. You’re telling me a billionaire has no choice in who he can have on his tour?
This situation reminds me of two other very similar ones both concerning bands having to make a decision that could potentially make or break their careers.
When Green Day had gained success from their album Dookie, they went on tour where they brought their former labelmates Pansy Division as openers.
Pansy Division was an openly gay punk rock band, in a time where being openly gay was not acceptable at all.
When Green Day was told by venue promoters to drop them, they told them straight up if Pansy Division won’t play, they won’t play.
The promoters very quickly backed down and Pansy Division was able to perform.
Another situation involves Nirvana, where they had an all female punk band Calamity Jane open for them in Argentina. Just as the band started to play, the crowd booed them off the stage.
Kurt Cobain was furious about this and tanked the entire performance, and kept teasing “Smells Like Teen Spirit” but never actually playing it.
Both bands were not as big as they are now, and still risked their careers to do the right thing.
So when you think about Sheeran and how he supposedly talked with Robert Kraft and the promoters, it makes the entire thing sound silly.
It truly just puzzles me how he goes into this whole thing to explain why he did what he did, only to take no accountability and basically say a whole lot of nothing.
He talks about how he doesn’t like to involve politics into his shows because he likes his concerts to be a place where people can escape.
Which is fair, you can want that–but he’s being very hypocritical.
Sheeran saying he doesn’t want politics in his concert because there’s no place for it, and because he has a young audience of different backgrounds is hypocritical when he performed at the 2022 charity event Concert for Ukraine.
How can you perform at a charity concert raising money for Ukraine, but say you don’t speak up about Palestine because there are better ways to advocate for change?.
Overall, I’m disgusted and infuriated by the entire situation. The way so many people try so hard to justify why they don’t care about Palestine just makes me too mad to express myself professionally.
The actions of Macklemore are indeed brave, especially in a country that favors and protects Israel. He said it best though, these celebrities including himself are not the victims.
If anything this situation should bring more awareness to the tragedy that is happening in Palestine. What is happening before our eyes is not a “controversy” or “drama”, it is murder.
It should push us forward in finding ways we can use our voices, our platforms, our resources to help those in need.
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