Macklemore has been dropped from the rest of Ed Sheeran’s tour after upcoming venues threatened to cancel performances if he was involved, according to the show’s promoter.
The pro-Palestine rapper, real name Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, chanted “Free Palestine” and showed pictures of Gaza, during a performance earlier in the tour of his 2024 song Hinds Hall in front of around 70,000 fans.
His on-stage antics prompted the Israeli-American Council to launch a petition urging Sheeran to remove Macklemore as his support act for the remainder of the tour.
The petition said Macklemore had "used the stage to deliver an extended political message” and added: “[The event was a concert], not a political rally, not a protest, and not an activist event”.
It added: "This becomes even more troubling when the message relies on selective imagery, biased messaging, and disputed claims presented to a massive audience as fact, without context or complexity."
Messina Touring Group has told Rolling Stone: “As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s US Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming US tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the line-up, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.
"After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
Macklemore was due to appear at eight of the ten shows left on the on the US leg of the tour, which is set to resume this Friday (September 19), in Philadelphia.
According to Rolling Stone, the venues that allegedly objected to the rapper included Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia; Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts; Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta; Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis; Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina; AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas; and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
To get more news, click here to sign up for our free daily newsletter.