Macklemore shared a lengthy statement Monday regarding his removal from Ed Sheeran‘s Loop Tour, after Sheeran’s tour promoter had issued a statement earlier this morning stating that venues threatened to pull out if the rapper was allowed to perform.
“Before I get into it, I want to say something that should be obvious. In this moment I think it matters. I am not a victim,” Macklemore wrote on Instagram. “Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families. The victims are the Palestinian people.”
His statement is available in full in his Instagram post below.
In his statement, Macklemore alleged that Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium — where Sheeran’s tour was slated to play at the end of September — had called Sheeran telling him he wouldn’t allow Macklemore to play at his stadium, and 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 a statement shared with The Hollywood Reporter Kraft said, “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. 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.
“This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf. Their pain and loss are real. But that advocacy should not come at the expense of the Jewish community or obscure the responsibility of Hamas, a United States and globally (including Canada, European Union, United Kingdom, and Japan) designated terrorist organization whose horrific actions have caused immeasurable suffering for Palestinians and Israelis alike. I agree with Macklemore. Too many lives have been lost and there has been too much suffering, but only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas is not honest and only advances more divisiveness and hate. Over many decades, I have directed resources to Palestine and created athletic and entrepreneurial opportunities for Palestinians who I admire and respect. Standing with the Palestinian people and standing against Hamas, antisemitism and hate should not be mutually exclusive.“
Kraft also said, “Much of my time and attention for the last decade has been focused on the fight against antisemitism and hate of all kinds, and I feel a responsibility to stand up when I believe that line has been crossed. I have tremendous respect for Ed and his music, particularly his unique ability to bring people together and spread joy, and I have always been proud to welcome him and his fans to Gillette Stadium. I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same – peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate.”
Earlier Monday, Sheeran’s longtime promoter Messina Touring Group confirmed Macklemore was no longer on the tour, saying in a statement that “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.”
Macklemore said that “Ed was in a fucked up position,” adding that the singer’s “typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before.”
He said Sheeran, a friend of 13 years, is like a “brother” to him, and that “because of that, we’ve had some difficult conversations this past week” that Macklemore said were “rooted in love and respect” but that “still end in a place of fundamental disagreement.”
“He told me that the words “Free Palestine” and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with,” Macklemore wrote. “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’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides.’”
A rep for Sheeran didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Macklemore said he understood why Sheeran and others would be hesitant to speak out on the issue, noting the financial and career risks that accompany such action but further added that “when one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn’t leave you in the middle.”
Macklemore first caught backlash from Pro-Israel groups earlier in September after issuing his “free Palestine” message during his opening set at Sheeran’s MetLife Stadium date on Sept. 4. The Israeli-American Council launched a petition calling to remove him from the tour but Macklemore doubled down.
As Macklemore referenced in his note, his actions also drew a response from Pink, who herself caught backlash for reposting a call for the rapper to be removed from the tour. Pink issued a lengthy statement of her own Friday, further giving her views on the Israel-Gaza conflict and saying that she was “standing up for my own people.” Pink also referenced a costume Macklemore had worn back in 2014 that was widely criticized as antisemitic. He apologized at the time.
Macklemore once again shot down claims that his “free Palestine” stance was antisemitic on Monday, stating that when “saying ‘Free Palestine’ gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn’t protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability.”
In his statement, Macklemore further wrote that “I hope this isn’t the end of my relationship with Ed. Thirteen years of friendship doesn’t disappear because of one painful disagreement.”
He further stated that this controversy feels “small” when compared to “an entire people being displaced, starved and killed while the world debates which words we are allowed to use to describe it, how those words make us feel, and whether our discomfort matters more than the people living through a genocide.”
Macklemore concluded his post once again voicing his support for the Free Palestine cause, and that while he’s no longer on the tour, he’s already gotten the message across.
“I didn’t need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2,” Macklemore said. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say. Free Palestine. But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.”
Sept. 14, 1:30 p.m. Updated with Robert Kraft statement.
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