'Sheer madness': Stars react after Ed Sheeran drops Macklemore from tour

American rapper Macklemore has been dropped from Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour in the US after he called for a free Palestine while on stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

In an Instagram post today, Macklemore said his long-time friend Sheeran had dropped him from the tour after receiving a phone call from Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and their Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. The stadium is the next stop for Sheeran’s tour.

Macklemore has been an outspoken supporter of Palestine for a long time, long before Sheeran invited him to join the Loop concerts.

He told fans the announcement came after a week of intense discussions with Sheeran, who he has been friends with for 13 years and considers a “brother”.

“As I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can’t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened,” Macklemore wrote.

According to the rapper, Sheeran received a call from Kraft telling him he would not allow Macklemore to perform at Gillette Stadium.

“Ed was in a f***ed-up position,” he wrote. “He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it had never been before.

“What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now? Because now I’m sharing the stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stages in America.”

Macklemore said he understood that speaking up on Palestine would cost artists money and he has lost a lot for doing so – but he added that did not stop him from wanting to do what he believed was right.

“And I get why people don’t. Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I’ve lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn’t leave you in the middle,” he wrote.

“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.”

According to Rolling Stone magazine, the Can’t Hold Us rapper was meant to open for Sheeran on eight of the remaining 10 shows of the tour.

Multiple venues objected to Macklemore performing after he called for a free Palestine and spoke up on the genocide in Gaza.

In a speech on stage on September 4, while opening for Sheeran, Macklemore said: “A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine’.”

He told the audience he wanted people in Gaza to know they were not forgotten. “I said: ‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”

Addressing the controversy today, Macklemore said neither he nor Sheeran were victims.

“We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world,” he said. “Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.

“The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence.”

‘So utterly obscene’: Stars rally behind Macklemore

Meanwhile, a number of artists have come out in support of Macklemore.

“You are a rare and important voice … thank you for existing…. This is so articulate and so powerful. You are a hero,” British singer Paloma Faith wrote in the comments of Macklemore’s post.

American actor Hannah Einbinder commented with several heart emojis.

Irish rappers Kneecap said: “Free Palestine. They can never silence the truth.”

In a post on Instagram, American rockers Garbage posted a lengthy statement in support of Macklemore, calling the situation “sheer madness” and “utterly obscene”.

“This is madness. Sheer madness. So @macklemore is being dropped off a major tour because some people felt threatened and ‘scared’ when he stood on stage and pleaded for the protections of an occupied and persecuted people? This is so wildly unjust.

“Can I just remind everyone that nothing Macklemore actually said was violent or hateful or remotely radical. May I remind everyone that Israeli scholars and world-renowned experts on genocide themselves are in agreement that what is being done to the Palestinians is cruel and unlawful. The international court of justice, governmental bodies across the globe and respected international humanitarian organisations all agree with this assessment too,“ the band said.

YouTube star and children’s educator Ms Rachel also posted about the controversy, stating that “silence during a genocide is not neutral”.

On social media, several people pointed out the venues banning Macklemore and accusing him of anti-Semitism have Kanye West/Ye concerts booked, despite the rapper having a song called Heil Hitler.