On Monday (Sept. 14), Seattle rapper Macklemore was removed from his opening slot on Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour, just a week after performing two shows at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium during which he performed his protest anthem “Hind’s Hall” and said “Free Palestine” from the stage.
The performances, which had sparked criticism on social media from the likes of P!nk and Boy George, came amid Macklemore’s criticism of the Israeli government’s war in Gaza; “Hind’s Hall” was originally released in May 2024. Macklemore had originally been slated to perform at 10 of Sheeran’s Loop Tour shows, but only made the two appearances at MetLife before he was pulled from the trek.
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“Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him,” Macklemore wrote on Instagram. “We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. 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.”
In his own statement, Kraft 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 antisemetic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the Sept. 25 and 26 concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.”
On Tuesday (Sept. 15), Sheeran spoke up, noting that “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me.” That promoter, Messina Touring, also released a statement, which was first shared with Rolling Stone, which said it had “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.”
Now, in addition to Macklemore, openers Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe all announced they would no longer be opening for Sheeran’s tour, with all three saying that they did not support silencing artists and that they stood with Palestine. Beoga, which serves as the backing band for portions of Sheeran’s own performance, also pulled out of the run.
Here, Billboard breaks down what logistics might have been required to pull an opening act from a larger tour, and what comes next. Messina Touring, Sheeran’s North American booking agency THE•TEAM, and Macklemore’s North American booking agency WME did not respond to requests for comment.
Who made the decision to pull Macklemore off the show?
That has gotten a bit muddy. Initially, Macklemore said that Kraft and venue owners banded together to force Sheeran’s hand. Sheeran himself said in his statement that it was the venue owners who called for Macklemore to be dropped or else they would pull shows, but also said the promoter was involved in those discussions. Kraft’s statement said the threat to pull the shows began with him. But Sheeran’s statement also said, “The venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.” Messina Touring did not respond to a request for further clarification. The other openers’ decisions were their own.
Has a venue owner ever pulled a show because they disagreed with an artist politically?
Not at this scale. In clubs and theaters, there have been instances — such as in 2024, when Matisyahu had several dates canceled, also pertaining to Israel and Palestine. However, having a group of stadium owners gather together to request an artist be pulled off as an opener due to a political statement — and threatening that otherwise the headliner could not perform — has not happened before, to the best of our knowledge.
Matisiyahu had shows at Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, N.M., and Rialto Theater in Tucson, Ariz., cancelled in 2024 due to security concerns pertaining to pro-Palestine protesters gathering outside his shows. The venues canceled the concerts, citing staff shortages, with Meow Wolf issuing a statement that said, “Two hours before the show was set to begin, we found ourselves without adequate staff to safely manage the sold out crowd. Meow Wolf will always prioritize the safety of our employees and our guests.”
How does an artist being pulled off a show usually happen?
Typically, if a venue or promoter chooses not to work with an artist, that decision is made long before the show is announced; should a venue or promoter not want to support a controversial artist, they simply don’t extend them an offer to perform. Show cancellations or missed dates typically happen due to weather, flight delays or illness; in the latter two cases, the artist is typically the one who must cover the costs. If a cancellation is due to weather, insurance often kicks in. For some festivals, if an artist is on site by the time a show gets called off, they’ll be able to keep some of their guarantee, but not the full agreed cost (as they still didn’t get a chance to perform).
This isn’t the first time an artist has been pulled from a show due to political statements — last year, Kehlani was removed from dates at Cornell and Central Park SummerStage in New York for her own statements in support of Palestine. In her case, the organizers called off the show claiming it was for “safety reasons.”
Do contracts legally allow for an artist to be pulled from a show due to their political speech?
M.I.A. was recently removed from Kid Cudi’s tour due to her own political comments, including those over Palestine. In June, she responded by filing a lawsuit against Kid Cudi over the removal, claiming he “knew her politics” and that she was legally allowed to speak her mind.
Every artist’s contract is different, and any dispute between Macklemore and Sheeran’s promoter would be subject to the specific terms that they signed when he joined the tour. But in M.I.A.’s case, she says her contract with Live Nation gave her “sole and exclusive creative control” over the content of her performances, with no restrictions on political messaging: “Live Nation agreed to pay M.I.A. over $2.8 million regardless of what she said on stage. That was the deal.”
What happens with Macklemore? Does he get paid?
It depends on his contract. Supporting acts on tours often receive flat fees, rather than making percentages depending on how many tickets are sold. Compensation for opening acts is often negotiated as a guarantee, but that doesn’t always mean they’ll get paid if they cancel. If the show gets called off due to the promoter or headliner, the cancellation may come down to circumstances and what force-majeure provisions were in the original contract. Depending on what his contract states, Macklemore might be entitled to some or all of his fee for the remaining dates on which he was originally scheduled to appear.
Would the other acts who dropped out get paid?
Again, it would depend on their contracts. However, because they themselves are the ones making the decision to not remain on the tour, they’re likely giving up their fees and thus will not get paid.
Will there need to be another opening act?
With every opener and Sheeran’s backing band dropping from the tour as a result of Macklemore’s removal, Sheeran would have quite a few slots to fill; in fact, it’s possible the tour still results in a cancellation. If the slots don’t get filled, Sheeran has the option of performing with no openers.
When has this happened before?
It’s rare, but political opinions held by artists have led to controversy over live shows in the past. When Messina Touring founder Louis Messina left promoter Clear Channel (now Live Nation) to promote on his own in 2001, The Chicks were one of five artists he brought with him. The country trio kicked off its 2003 Tour days before the Iraq War began, and came under fire due to remarks Natalie Maines made criticizing President George W. Bush. Messina continued to promote The Chicks for both the Top of the World Tour and the 2006 Accidents & Accusations Tour, though slow ticket sales and pulled dates plagued the group after it spoke out. More recently, Kehlani and Matisyahu have shown that venues and promoters may cancel a performance due to artists’ statements or positions on controversial topics.
Additionally, Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West) has faced this several times in recent years. After he was announced to headline Wireless Festival in March, its sponsors began to drop out of the festival. Pepsi was the first to withdraw, followed by Rockstar Energy, Diageo, Anheuser-Busch InBev and Paypal. Still, the event attempted to continue as planned — up until the U.K. denied Ye a travel visa. Sponsors have thus far remained silent on the Sheeran tour.
What comes next?
It’s unclear whether Sheeran will make any additional statements, if sponsors will weigh in, if the forthcoming venues — all of which are NFL stadiums in the U.S. — will make statements, or if the tour will go on at all given all the controversy. The next date is scheduled for Sept. 19 in Philadelphia; Sheeran is also scheduled to play Sept. 25 and 26 at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, the Kraft-owned venue that initially banned Macklemore.
Additional reporting by Bill Donahue and Dan Rys