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Rapper Macklemore has been kicked off the last leg of guitarist Ed Sheeran’s “Loop Tour” after saying “Free Palestine” on stage during a concert earlier this month.
Macklemore was set to appear as a special guest on Sheeran’s tour for several of the last remaining concerts in the U.S. When he joined the tour at the start of September, Macklemore addressed fans at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, saying:
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.’ 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.
The statement drew outrage from pro-Israel groups. On Monday, Macklemore announced on social media that he was being removed from the tour after a pressure campaign from owners of stadiums that were scheduled to host the tour.
Messina Touring Group, the U.S.-based promoter for Sheeran’s tour, confirmed Macklemore’s departure.
“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, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans,” Messina said in a statement. “After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
In his statement, Macklemore detailed how the pressure campaign was started by billionaire Robert Kraft, a backer of Israeli government leaders and the owner of Gillette Stadium.
However, the decision ultimately fell on Sheeran, Macklemore said, calling the guitarist a “friend” who he’s had many respectful but difficult conversations with since he first expressed solidarity with Palestine on the tour.
Sheeran “couldn’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides’” persona, Macklemore said, noting that the musician’s “apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had before.”
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“Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues,” the statement from the rapper said.
But despite Sheeran’s silence, Macklemore said he felt it was his duty to voice solidarity with the Palestinian people in the face of Israel’s genocide.
“There is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed,” he said. “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.”
Macklemore expressed no regrets about speaking out, stating:
I didn’t need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say: Free Palestine. But 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.
Edward Ahmed Mitchell, national deputy director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), condemned Sheeran, his touring company, and the stadium owners.
“Privately owned sports stadiums should never threaten to ban musicians because they dare to oppose a genocide, and publicly owned stadium entities cannot engage in such censorship without violating the First Amendment,” Mitchell said.
“We call on Mr. Sheeran and the tour promoters to reverse course,” Mitchell added. “They should pursue legal options or reschedule his tour rather than give in to bullying by billionaires who care about free speech as much as they care about slaughtered Palestinian children.”
Mitchell concluded in his statement by saying:
Macklemore is taking a courageous and moral stand and Mr. Sheeran should bravely stand with him. The companies responsible for this attack on free speech for the benefit of a foreign government must be held accountable.
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