Ed Sheeran breaks silence after Macklemore tour ousting
‘The Gun Show’ host Mike ‘Gunz’ Gunzelman discusses four opening acts quitting Ed Sheeran’s concert tour after Macklemore was dropped. Gunzelman analyzes online pressure on performers to take political positions and compares the music industry reaction to 2024 college campus demonstrations.
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Hannah Einbinder has taken aim at Ed Sheeran amid the growing backlash over Macklemore’s removal from the singer’s U.S. tour.
The “Hacks” star criticized Sheeran on Instagram, joking that she was speaking “as a ginger” before wishing him an especially painful sunburn.
“Ed Sheeran i say this as a ginger. i hope you get a REALLY bad sun burn the kind on the back of your entire body where it hurts to lie down or walk or sit.”
MACKLEMORE DOUBLES DOWN AFTER GETTING KICKED OFF ED SHEERAN TOUR AFTER PRO-PALESTINE STANCE
Hannah Einbinder slammed Ed Sheeran over his Palestinian stance. (Getty Images)
Her post came after Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran’s “Loop Tour” following onstage comments supporting Palestine.
Einbinder was among several celebrities to publicly call out Sheeran, who addressed the controversy in a lengthy statement posted Tuesday.
“Macklemore asked to join my tour last year and I agreed, because I respect him as an artist,” Sheeran wrote on social media. “As with all my support acts, I agree that they play a setlist of their choosing.”
On Monday, Macklemore had claimed that Sheeran told him Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, had rallied other stadium owners to oppose allowing the rapper to perform. According to his account, the venues allegedly gave Sheeran an ultimatum: “if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”
Sheeran’s statement offered a different account of the events, saying that after Macklemore’s performances at his New Jersey shows, venues scheduled for upcoming tour dates told organizers they would pull the shows if Macklemore remained on the lineup.
“After Macklemore’s performances at my New Jersey shows, venues on my upcoming tour dates communicated that they would pull the shows if he was still supporting,” Sheeran wrote. “I was informed that this stance was based on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance, rather than on everything that was said. I spoke with the venues at length all week to try and build a bridge. One of those people was Robert Kraft. I was also involved in direct talks with promoters along with activists on both sides to try and find a mutual resolution for all, but the venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.”
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Macklemore was kicked off of Sheeran’s tour due to his pro-Palestinian remarks. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
Sheeran said he has deliberately avoided using his professional platform for politics because his audience includes young people and children from diverse backgrounds. Sheeran said concertgoers attend his shows expecting “a place of safety and sanctuary” rather than a political forum.
“There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics – my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds,” he wrote. “Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum. I respect Macklemore’s strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes. However, there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: peace. I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed. If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change. There are different approaches to being an advocate for change.”
Sheeran also rejected the suggestion that his decision not to speak publicly about his personal beliefs made him indifferent to the conflict.
“I am not complicit,” he wrote. “I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.”
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However, his statement has done little to quiet the criticism.
“Wicked” actor Marissa Bode accused Sheeran of lacking a backbone, writing that although she uses a wheelchair, she still has a “f—ing spine,” before adding her support for Palestine on Instagram.
“Ed Sheeran, my legs may not work like they used to before, but at least I have a f—ing spine. Free Palestine, b—-,” she wrote.
Marissa Bode slammed Sheeran, calling him a “b—-.” (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images)
Children’s educator and YouTube sensation Ms. Rachel similarly said Sheeran had “caved” to people who opposed Macklemore’s advocacy and argued that silence over Gaza is not neutral.
“Ed Sheeran had an opportunity [to] show that we won’t be bullied into punishing people for supporting Palestine. Instead he caved to people who refuse to accept what the world knows. A genocide is happening in Gaza. We all need to speak out against it.”
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Ms. Rachel, also known as Rachel Griffin-Accurso, has been open about her stance throughout the years. (Variety via Getty Images)
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Former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters delivered one of the harshest responses, posting a video in which he contrasted Macklemore’s willingness to speak out with Sheeran’s refusal to take a public position.
“I just have a little message for you,” he said in a video he shared on social media. “There are two kinds of people in this world, Ed. There are people who do the right thing. That rapper Macklemore would be one of those people. And there are people, many of them sadly little – excuse me, I nearly used the F-word then, p—-s like you who do the wrong thing. Goodbye.”
Macklemore has also criticized Sheeran’s stance, though he said their friendship was not necessarily over.
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He argued that Sheeran could not move beyond his public position of “not taking sides,” adding that refusing to choose a side in an unequal conflict does not amount to neutrality.
The fallout has also affected Sheeran’s touring lineup.
Responding to Macklemore’s claims, Sheeran said he was “not complicit.” (Dia Dipasupil)
Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Irish folk band Beoga all announced that they would withdraw from upcoming dates in solidarity with Macklemore.
Finneas said artists should not be silenced when speaking for oppressed people, while Rowe condemned the use of wealth and venue power to suppress pro-Palestinian voices.
Lukas Graham wrote that he was grateful for his friendship with Sheeran, but couldn’t “carry on with tour as things stand,” before withdrawing.
“I’m sorry we won’t be there. This is a difficult decision, but it’s one I need to stand by,” Graham added.
Macklemore has been speaking about Palestine for three years, and said now is not the time to be silenced. (Fox News Digital)
A week after Macklemore repeatedly called to “Free Palestine” and performed his anti-Israel song “Hind’s Hall” while opening for Sheeran, the rapper was dropped from the remaining U.S. dates he was scheduled to perform on the “Shape of You” singer’s tour.
“As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, 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 Touring Group, the promoter of the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s “Loop Tour,” said in a statement to Rolling Stone. “After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.”
While Macklemore said he hopes his relationship with Sheeran won’t crumble over this, he stands by his position.
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“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.”
Fox News Digital’s Tracy Wright contributed to this post.