Pop music star Ed Sheeran distanced himself from the decision to remove pro-Palestine rapper Macklemore from his tour, as several of his supporting acts announced their withdrawal from his Americas tour.
Following a storm of criticism, Sheeran wrote in a statement to his Instagram account, “I am not complicit,” while stating that he also has “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.”
Sheeran said promoters removed Macklemore from the tour following his anti-Israel remarks during several opening acts and acknowledged that a discussion took place to “try and build a bridge.”
“I spoke with the venues at length all week to try and build a bridge,” Sheeran wrote. “But the venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.”
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Sheeran also mentioned Robert Kraft, the Jewish owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, where one of the shows was scheduled to take place.
Kraft had previously acknowledged the cancellation of the show at Gillette Stadium, citing “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.”
“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,” Kraft said in comments to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
“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,” he added.
During a show earlier in September, Macklemore attempted to lead the crowd in chants of “Free Palestine,” while showing imagery from pro-Palestine protests.
Macklemore reportedly told the crowd, “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.”
Shortly after Sheeran’s post to Instagram, four of the supporting acts on his tour announced their own departure in solidarity with Macklemore.
“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas O’Connell, the brother of singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, wrote on Instagram. “I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”
Danish pop band Lukas Graham thanked Sheeran for the opportunity to tour with him while directing their criticism toward the promoters who removed Macklemore.
“Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge,” the band wrote.
However, the media watchdog group HonestReporting noted that Macklemore has a history of both anti-Israel and antisemitism that predates Oct. 7, 2023.
The group reposted a previous report detailing several instances of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes used in several of the artist’s songs.
The Israeli-American Council (IAC), which launched the petition calling for Macklemore to be removed from the tour and gathered tens of thousands of signatures, praised the decision to drop Macklemore, while addressing Sheeran directly.
“Sheeran, now is not the time to ‘Save Myself’ – it’s time to take responsibility for giving a stage to antisemitic messaging,” the IAC said in a statement, referencing the title of a Sheeran song.
“Macklemore didn’t just chant political slogans. He presented the war one-sidedly, erasing the massacre that led to it – a massacre in which Hamas terrorists murdered, raped, and kidnapped more than 1,400 people in one day – while portraying the self-protecting Jewish state as the only guilty actor,” the IAC continued.
“This isn’t just ‘criticism of Israel.’ It’s a message that crosses the line between legitimate political criticism and antisemitism. This is Ed Sheeran’s stage; it’s the tour that carries his name – and so the responsibility for what happens on it is his too.”
“We welcome the removal of this antisemitic rhetoric from the tour,” the statement concluded.
This article originally appeared on ALL ISRAEL NEWS and is reposted with permission.
