Dropping Macklemore cost Ed Sheeran's tour its whole backing band the next day
Venues told Ed Sheeran's promoter they would not host a show with Macklemore on the bill, so he came off it on September 14. The day after that, the remaining support acts and Sheeran's own backing band walked.
The Board Room · Leadership desk
What happened
- Macklemore opened Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour at MetLife Stadium on September 4 and told the crowd he had joined the tour so he could say two words from a stage that size: "Free Palestine".
- Macklemore said Sheeran told him that Robert Kraft had rallied some other stadium owners and that collectively they gave Sheeran an ultimatum over keeping him on the bill.
- The day after the removal was announced, the remaining opening acts and Sheeran's backing band all pulled out of the tour in protest, according to Vox.
Why it matters
- What it limits constraint The veto sat with parties that had no contract with the performer, so a tour's lineup holds only as long as the buildings it has already sold tickets in will tolerate it.
- What it costs cost The bill for the removal fell on people who did not make the call: the support acts and musicians who gave up their remaining dates, and the fans now chasing refunds on tickets bought to see him.
- What it sets up precedent One landlord's phone call worked as a lineup veto in the middle of a run. Expect lineup approval to be an explicit, negotiated clause in the next round of stadium tour deals.
- What doesn't add up contradiction Macklemore says Kraft rallied other owners into a collective ultimatum; Kraft's confirmed statement covers only Gillette's two dates, and the promoter refers to venues without naming any of them.
Next story · Leadership · Sep 24
Crisis adviser credits Ed Sheeran's onstage apology with reviving his standing among fans after Kraft's vetoOne report1 publisher
The chain of control on a stadium tour runs through the buildings. A support act contracts with the tour; the tour rents the stadium. Gillette Stadium, owned by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, put its veto in its own words: "Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech," the statement said, according to the local outlet WHDH [11][13]. Citing material shared from the stage in New Jersey and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery, it said his participation in the September 25 and 26 concerts "would cross that line" [12].
The promoter's account makes the other option expensive. Messina Touring Group said venues on the upcoming US dates had notified it that they would not allow a concert with Macklemore on the lineup, "which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans" [4]. Gillette is two of the 59 dates Vox counts on the Loop Tour [24]. Messina and Sheeran have not said what either path costs.
By the late-September dates there was no choice left to make: a tour that cannot get into the buildings is not a tour. The decision that produced those dates came earlier. The exposure was accepted when the tour took on lineup risk that the venues would price; what remained was whether to explain the arrangement publicly. Sheeran's representatives did not respond to Business Insider's requests for comment [19].
The cost of removal arrived the next day. Vox reported that the remaining opening acts and Sheeran's backing band all pulled out in protest of the decision to boot Macklemore [25][26]. Replacing an opener is a booking problem. The backing band plays the headliner's set. Business Insider reported that Macklemore fans were asking for refunds [18].
Neither side of the argument absorbed the reaction cleanly. Pink's reshare of criticism of Macklemore sparked, in Business Insider's words, a torrent of backlash for herself, and she later wrote that he "took the mic to tell all of the Jews in the stadium that it wasn't about them. You don't get to decide that for us" [7][2]. Vox published a colleague's Slack message from the aftermath: "Even some pro-Israel folks who hate Macklemore are ripshit at Robert Kraft for Streisand-effecting this guy," it read [20].
The ticket base cuts the other way from the buildings. Vox reports that sympathy for Israel has declined sharply across American generations, with the steepest drop over the past two years among people aged 35 to 54 [21]. Macklemore is 43 [22].
The record Gillette cited was available before the tour was booked. Vox describes a documented history of apparently antisemitic behavior that Macklemore has since apologized for [16], and the stadium's statement rests on that history as well as the New Jersey remarks [12]. A tour that books an act a landlord already objects to leaves that landlord free to refuse him at any date in the run. Messina announced the removal on September 14, eleven days before the two Gillette shows that prompted it [23].
What to watch
- Whether the remaining US dates go ahead with a replacement band, and how many tickets are refunded.
- Whether Messina or any other venue names the stadiums that made the threat, which would corroborate Macklemore's account of a collective ultimatum.
- Whether Sheeran comments on the record; his representatives have not responded to press requests so far.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence64
- Adoption55
- Hype gap+26
- Incentives74
- Confidence60
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
On September 12, Pink shared her response to Macklemore's comments on her Instagram.
- [2]
Pink wrote that Macklemore "took the mic to tell all of the Jews in the stadium that it wasn't about them. You don't get to decide that for us."
- [3]
On September 14, tour promoter Messina Touring Group issued a statement announcing that Macklemore would no longer be part of the tour.
- [4]
Messina Touring Group said: "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 lineup, 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."
- [5]
Macklemore said: "Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium" and "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."
- [6]
Macklemore joined Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour as an opening act on September 4, with his first show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
- [7]
Pink reshared criticism of Macklemore, sparking a torrent of backlash for herself.
- [8]
Macklemore said onstage: "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.'"
- [9]
Macklemore performed "Hind's Hall", a song about the student protests at Columbia University named for Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in 2024.
- [10]
Macklemore wrote on Instagram: "I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim."
- [11]
A Gillette Stadium statement reported by the local outlet WHDH said: "Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech."
- [12]
The Gillette Stadium statement said: "Based on Macklemore's recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran's shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line."
- [13]
Robert Kraft is the billionaire owner of the NFL's New England Patriots and of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
- [14]
Kraft, who is Jewish, confirmed that he blocked Macklemore from playing at Gillette, citing both his recent advocacy and his "history of antisemitic rhetoric".
- [15]
Vox describes the Loop Tour as a 59-date tour.
- [16]
Vox says Macklemore has a documented history of apparently antisemitic behavior, which he has since apologized for.
- [17]
Macklemore's lengthy statement about being dropped was shared on Instagram on a Monday.
- [18]
Business Insider reported that Macklemore fans are asking for refunds as Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour implodes.
- [19]
Representatives for Sheeran did not respond to Business Insider's requests for comment.
- [20]
A Vox colleague's Slack message, quoted in the newsletter, read: "Even some pro-Israel folks who hate Macklemore are ripshit at Robert Kraft for Streisand-effecting this guy."
- [21]
Sympathy for Israel has declined sharply across generations of Americans, and over the past two years the sharpest drop has been among Americans ages 35 to 54.
- [22]
Macklemore is 43.
- [23]
The removal was announced eleven days before the first of the two Gillette Stadium shows at issue.
- [24]
The two Gillette Stadium concerts are two of the tour's 59 dates.
- [25]
On Tuesday, the remaining opening acts and Sheeran's backing band all pulled out of the tour in protest of the decision to boot Macklemore.
- [26]
The walkout by the remaining opening acts and Sheeran's backing band happened on September 15, the day after the removal was announced.
Sources
2 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- businessinsider.comMacklemore says Robert Kraft had him dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour after his comments about the Palestinian territories
2 articles · September 16, 2026
- vox.comHow Israel-Palestine broke up Sheeran-Macklemore
1 article · September 16, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Artist Deplatforming
- US Opinion on Israel and Gaza
- Stadium Ownership
- Live Music Touring
Entities
- Messina Touring Group
- Gillette Stadium
- New England Patriots