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When Ed Sheeran walks onto a Philadelphia stage Saturday, the people missing may be as noticeable as the person under the lights. There will be no opening act and no Beoga, the Irish band that once joined him midway through the show.
The tour began coming apart after Macklemore spoke about the war in Gaza.
During Sheeran's Sept. 5 concert at MetLife Stadium, Macklemore said "free Palestine" and performed "Hind's Hall," named for Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli troops in Gaza City in January 2024. Images of Gaza's destruction filled the screens behind him.
The performance drew quick criticism, including from the Anti-Defamation League. The Israeli-American Council circulated a petition urging Sheeran to drop Macklemore.
Macklemore said Sheeran later told him several stadiums would not host the tour if he remained. The rapper accused Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft of leading the effort. Kraft acknowledged barring Macklemore, citing what he called a history of antisemitic rhetoric and saying he would not "provide a platform for hate speech." Sheeran said the promoter and venues made the decision.
Music journalist and critic Zach Schonfeld told Morning Edition that the episode showed the power venue owners can have over who performs and what artists can say.
"I think it does show that a billionaire venue owner like Robert Kraft holds a lot of power to dictate who is allowed to perform in his venue and what these artists are allowed to say," Schonfeld said.
By Tuesday, other artists had begun leaving the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Beoga all withdrew from upcoming dates. The next day, Macklemore said he would donate his $1 million in net earnings from the tour to six organizations supporting Palestinians and invited Kraft to do the same.
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The fight over a stadium stage offers a window into changing American views of Israel. A July Economist/YouGov poll found 43% of U.S. adult citizens said Israel was committing genocide against Palestinian civilians, including 68% of Democrats and 17% of Republicans. Among adults under 30, the share rose to 55%.
Sheeran said he has personal views about the war but does not want his concerts to become political forums. That answer drew fresh criticism online, including comparisons with his 2022 performance at a benefit for Ukraine and a video in which he told Ukrainians, "I stand with you." He has also campaigned against racism in the U.K. and criticized the British government over cuts to arts funding.
Asked about precedents, Schonfeld pointed to Kneecap, the Irish rap trio that faced canceled shows after speaking about Gaza. The controversy also comes amid other cultural fights over speech about Israel and Gaza, including backlash against The Zone of Interest director Jonathan Glazer after his Oscar speech addressed Israel's occupation and the war, and protests surrounding No Other Land , the Oscar-winning documentary about displacement in the West Bank that initially lacked a mainstream U.S. distributor.
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The pressure extends beyond public and online spaces in America. In Israel, the directors of the new documentary "NAZA," an investigation by two Israeli journalists into how Israeli intelligence selected targets in Gaza and calculated expected civilian deaths from strikes, faced calls from the culture minister to lose their citizenship.
Still, Schonfeld said Sheeran's enormous mainstream reach makes this the most high-profile example yet. He has tried to stay out of politics. In Philadelphia, the empty spaces onstage may make that position impossible to miss.
Editor's note: Some material in this story was not included in the radio version that aired on Morning Edition. Lindsay Totty contributed reporting, and Suzanne Nuyen edited the digital story.
NPR does not offer or accept money for coverage or interviews. Anyone who makes such an offer or request is not an NPR employee and does not represent NPR.
Reporting synthesized and verified under Nexvoro.tech editorial guidelines. Full primary records referenced via Google News US Entertainment.
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