Pop star Ed Sheeran has dumped rapper Macklemore as his opening act after the rapper came under fire for his constant stream of anti-Israel, pro-Palestine, and pro-Hamas tirades from the stage during Sheeran’s tour this year.
The tour’s promoter has announced that the “Thrift Shop” singer will no longer be performing on the tour, according to Rolling Stone.
Messina Touring Group, promoter of the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, told Rolling Stone that some of the venues the tour is scheduled to appear in had expressed their concern over the rapper’s participation.
“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. After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates,” the promoter said.
Macklemore release and long statement, accusing New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, among other of applying pressure on Sheeran to drop him from the tour.
Macklemore had been scheduled to appear in eight more concerts on Sheeran’s tour.
It was reported that all eight of the facilities at which Macklemore was scheduled to play had expressed their concerns over his antics. The venues include, 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.
The rapper whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, raised complaints for his stage rants about his support for Palestine and his antagonism against the Jews.
For instance, the left-wing rapper earned a quick backlash from audience members and fans who wanted a refund of their ticket after the rapper launched into an anti-American, pro Hamas rant on stage during Sheeran’s concert in New Jersey.
He was slammed for bellowing slogans such as “Free Palestine,” and accused Israel of “genocide” in Gaza from the stage at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
“I wanted to stand up here on stages across America and say two words that are near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” the “Thrift Shop” singer yelled to the audience.
As he ranted, the rapper wore a Palestinian Keffiyeh and the Jumbotron behind him flashed “Free Palestine” images.
He was even criticized by pop star Pink who added her voice to the backlash against left-wing rapper by posting criticism of his actions.
While Pink did not add any caption to the criticism, she later explained why she reposted the attacks on Macklemore.
“I have never asked for another artist to be silenced and I’m not asking now. I don’t need anyone fired, and I don’t need a refund. What I need is to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, ‘that scared me, and it scared people I love,’ without being told our fear is just propaganda, and without being told I’m somehow cool with genocide because I noticed,” she said, according to Rolling Stone.
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