Topline
Macklemore has been pulled from the remaining dates of Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, according to Rolling Stone, after venues told the tour’s promoter it would refuse to host shows involving the rapper after he made “free Palestine” remarks at two shows in New York this month.
US rapper, singer, dancer and DJ, Benjamin Haggerty, known as Macklemore, performs at the Goldencoast Rap Festival in Corcelles-les-Monts, near Dijon, central-eastern France, on August 30, 2026.
Photo by ARNAUD FINISTRE / AFP via Getty Images
Key Facts
Messina Touring Group, the promoter of Sheeran’s tour, said in a statement to Rolling Stone that venues on upcoming dates “will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.”
Stadiums including Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, were among those that reportedly objected to Macklemore’s inclusion as the tour is scheduled to resume Friday in Philadelphia.
Messina Touring Group made the decision to remove Macklemore after “discussions with stakeholders,” Rolling Stone reported.
Macklemore said during Sheeran’s New York show on Sept. 4 that one of the reasons he joined the tour was because it allowed him to “stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine.’”
The comment was made as an introduction to his song “Hind’s Hall,” a song supporting pro-Palestinian protests that took place at Columbia University a few years ago during which protesters renamed Columbia’s Hamilton Hall to “Hind’s Hall” in honor of Hind Rajab, a young girl who was killed in Gaza in 2024.
Pro-Israel groups including StopAntisemitism and the Israeli American Council blasted Macklemore’s set, with the latter organization circulating a petition demanding Sheeran cut him from the lineup.
Forbes has reached out to The Messina Group for comment.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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