Macklemore accused of breaking ‘promise’ during Ed Sheeran performance
Earlier this week, Macklemore was dropped from the line-up on Ed Sheeran’s tour after making comments about Gaza.
But this apparently came after warnings were made about the rapper’s performance, as he has been outspoken about the devastation Palestinians are facing.
Sheeran later spoke out to claim he is ‘not complicit’ and claimed it was the promoter’s decision and not his that Macklemore was dropped from the tour.
“I have my personal views on this devastating conflict,” the singer said, without directly sharing them.
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And it’s alleged that it was somewhat ‘promised’ that Macklemore wouldn’t share his thoughts either, after mentioning Palestine on the first night of Sheeran’s tour stop at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.
Other artists have joined him since too, with Sheeran now seemingly left with no support acts or band for his tour.
A report by The Wall Street Journal says several NFL team owners complained about Macklemore’s pro-Palestine comments following the first night of the performances in New Jersey.
And sources tell the outlet that they were allegedly assured the ‘Thrift Shop’ rapper would remove all of these references from his performance on the second night. However, he kept them in and continued to say ‘Free Palestine’.
It is not explained who made this ‘promise’ to the NFL owners.
On Monday (14 September), Macklemore claimed that Robert Kraft (his Kraft Group owns the Gillette Stadium), had contacted Sheeran and told him they would not be able to play unless he was removed from the tour.
In a previous statement shared by Kraft, the businessman said his decision to ban the US rapper following his comments onstage were due to a ‘broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community’.
Macklemore has been outspoken about Palestine long before he started supporting Sheeran on the Loop Tour.
And following his removal from the line-up, he's now donated his entire net earnings from it - £1 million (£747,328) to charities supporting Palestinian people.
He wrote on Instagram yesterday: "With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people who are still being killed, still living under military occupation, and still fighting for their freedom.
“I will be donating the entire 1 million (dollars) of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organisations working directly to support the Palestinian people.”
He also invited Kraft to match his donations, adding that 'whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting. A Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth'.
He said: “Aid alone cannot address the conditions that make it necessary. This is a manmade injustice and I believe it requires immediate political change.
“Palestinians have lived for decades without basic rights and should not have to wait another day to be free. This is where my focus will remain.”
Since Macklemore was dropped from the tour, all of Sheeran's Loop Tour supporting acts, including Aaron Rowe, Finneas and Lukas Graham, as well as his backing band Beoga, have dropped out of the remaining dates.
The singer's next performance is scheduled for Saturday at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, where Graham and Rowe had been due to open for him.
Sheeran has 17 dates still left on the tour across North and South America, with the final show scheduled for 11 December in Mexico City.
LADbible has contacted representatives for Macklemore and Sheeran for comment.
Topics: Ed Sheeran, Palestine, Music
Jess Battison