\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\tMacklemore has been removed from the rest of Ed Sheeran\u2019s stadium tour after several venues allegedly told the trek’s promoter that they would not allow the rapper to perform. The news came after Macklemore made several onstage statements in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and called for a \u201cfree Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tIn an exclusive statement shared with Rolling Stone<\/em>, Messina Touring Group, promoter of the U.S. leg of Sheeran\u2019s Loop Tour, said: \u201cAs the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tMacklemore was slated to appear at eight of the 10 shows left on the U.S. leg of Sheeran\u2019s tour, which is set to resume this Friday, Sept. 19, in Philadelphia. The venues that allegedly objected to the rapper 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tReps for Sheeran and most of the venues did not immediately reply to requests for comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tIn a statement shared on Instagram<\/a>, Macklemore claimed he was dropped<\/a> from the tour after Robert Kraft \u2014 the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium \u2014 mounted a pressure campaign against Sheeran. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cEd told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium,\u201d Macklemore wrote. \u201cEd 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.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tKraft, in his own statement, confirmed he made the decision to bar Macklemore from performing at Gillette, saying it was based on his \u201crecent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran\u2019s 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.\u201d Kraft, however, did not address the claim that Kraft also \u201crallied\u201d other stadium owners to also pressure Sheeran into dropping Macklemore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tMacklemore \u2014 who\u2019s been an outspoken supporter<\/a> of Palestinians and those in Gaza for several years \u2014 joined the Loop Tour earlier this month, performing two shows at MetLife Stadium outside of New York City, on Sept. 4 and 5. At the first show, the Seattle rapper yelled \u201cFree Palestine\u201d onstage and expressed solidarity with people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. He also showed images from the devastation in Gaza and performed his protest song, \u201cHind\u2019s Hall,\u201d<\/a> about pro-Palestine demonstrators at Columbia, who occupied a building and named it after Hind Raja, a six-year-old killed by the Israeli military<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\u201cA 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: \u2018Free Palestine,\u2019\u201d he said during the first MetLife show. \u201cI said, \u2018Free Palestine!\u2019 I want those words to be loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThis spurred much criticism and backlash from pro-Israel groups. StopAntisemitism accused the rapper of ambushing fans with \u201canti-Israel propaganda\u201d in an Instagram post, which the pop singer Pink amplified<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tPink later explained<\/a> that she did not object to Macklemore’s calls for a \u201cFree Palestine,\u201d but said, \u201cI have never asked for another artist to be silenced and I\u2019m not asking now. I don\u2019t need anyone fired, and I don\u2019t need a refund. What I need is to be able to say, as a Jewish mom, \u2018that scared me, and it scared people I love,\u2019 without being told our fear is just propaganda, and without being told I\u2019m somehow cool with genocide because I noticed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tAdditionally, the Israeli American Council launched a petition<\/a> demanding Sheeran remove Macklemore from the rest of the tour, claiming his actions raised questions over \u201cwhere the line should be drawn when an opening act uses a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tAt the second MetLife show, Macklemore reiterated his calls for a \u201cFree Palestine\u201d and addressed Jewish members of the audience, saying, \u201cCriticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you. My message is for peace; love for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.\u201d (Humanitarian groups and a United Nations commission have said Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide. Israel and its allies, including the United States, have denied this.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tMost of the stadiums that allegedly would not allow a Macklemore show did not immediately return requests for comments either, including for explanations as to why they objected to the rapper performing at their venue. While two of those stadiums are privately owned \u2014 Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough \u2014 the rest are owned and, in many cases, operated by cities, states, or other government entities, potentially raising First Amendment issues if the venues barred Macklemore over his statements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe last stop on Sheeran\u2019s Loop Tour, for instance, is Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, which found itself in a similar spot earlier this summer after booking two Kanye West concerts. The shows, unsurprisingly, drew backlash and calls for cancellation due to West\u2019s many past antisemitic statements, but they went ahead as planned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tPointedly, Ye\u2019s promoter included a clause in his contract prohibiting Raymond James Stadium from canceling the gigs based on the rapper\u2019s past public statements or viewpoints. But legal experts also told local news<\/a> that canceling the shows would\u2019ve likely violated the First Amendment. Because Raymond James is owned by Hillsborough County, Florida, and operated by a public board, the Tampa Sports Authority, any cancellation based on Ye\u2019s past statements could have been seen as the government restricting speech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tWhen reached for comment on the Macklemore decision, a rep for the Tampa Sports Authority told Rolling Stone<\/em>, \u201cWe can confirm Macklemore will not be performing at the upcoming show. Apart from this lineup change, the concert will go forward as planned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tElsewhere in his statement on the matter, Macklemore called Sheeran a \u201cfriend\u201d and acknowledged the singer-songwriter \u201cwas in a fucked up position” after the alleged pressure campaign. Macklemore continued: “His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words \u2018Free Palestine\u2019 and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with. I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn\u2019t get past his public facing, \u2018I don\u2019t take sides.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tAfter Macklemore was dropped, other artists supporting Sheeran on his tour withdrew<\/a> from the trek including Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe. “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,\u201d Finneas wrote on Instagram. \u201cI have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThe North American leg of Sheeran\u2019s Loop Tour is set to run through the fall, wrapping Nov. 7 at Raymond James Stadium. A South American leg of the Loop Tour will follow in November and December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\tThis story was updated at 1:03 p.m. ET with quotes from a statement released by Macklemore. This story was updated again at 4:11 p.m. ET with quotes from a statement from Robert Kraft. The story was updated at 10:05 p.m. ET to include news of supporting acts on Ed Sheeran\u2019s Loop Tour withdrawing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWe 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,\u201d promoter 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