Ed Sheeran Tour Drops Macklemore
Macklemore's removal from Ed Sheeran's tour sparked artist exits and refund demands.
36
Articles
27
Sources
Coverage mix
What happened
Macklemore pledged his full $1 million in net tour earnings to six groups aiding Palestinians after Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour dropped him as an opener. The cut followed backlash over Macklemore’s pro-Palestinian comments at two New Jersey shows, and Sheeran’s other support acts later quit in solidarity. Macklemore said New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft blocked him from Gillette Stadium and pushed other venues; Sheeran said the promoter acted after venues threatened to pull shows. Kraft said Gillette Stadium would not host hate speech, citing what he called antisemitic rhetoric and imagery. He also said Sheeran asked him to commit $2 million in regional aid. The tour is still expected to continue, but new openers remain unclear.
Both sides
From the left
Left-leaning accounts framed the dispute as powerful venues punishing pro-Palestinian speech, not routine tour management. Rolling Stone cast the removal as repression, while The Guardian treated Sheeran’s neutrality as a political choice once the backlash grew. CNN emphasized the aid pledge as a shift toward humanitarian pressure, and Vox tied the fight to changing views on Israel.
From the right
Right-leaning accounts framed the dispute around objectionable anti-Israel activism, not a clean free-speech case. The Daily Wire leaned on claims of antisemitism, while Breitbart treated the censorship argument as rumor-driven pressure politics from the left. Daily Caller focused on the tour fallout, casting the walkouts as the force destabilizing Sheeran’s shows.
Coverage•36 articles — 19 left, 8 center, 9 right
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