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Macklemore Removed From Ed Sheeran Tour After Pro-Palestine Remarks

By Drooid · Sep 19, 2026, 9:59 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Macklemore Barred Tour

Ed Sheeran removed rapper Macklemore from his Loop Tour after Macklemore’s pro-Palestine remarks.
Venue owner Robert Kraft said he would bar Macklemore from Gillette Stadium, prompting other venues to follow.
Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Irish band Beoga quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
Macklemore pledged to donate $1 million from tour earnings to Palestinian aid and challenged Kraft to match.

Summary

Kenneth Stern Criticizes Slogan

Kenneth Stern, director of Bard Center for the Study of Hate, said the slogan sounds eliminationist to many Jews.
Jonathan Laurence of Boston College warned the phrase may imply Israel’s right to exist is denied.
Robert Leikind, director of AJC New England, called the slogan a rallying cry that can demonize Israel.
Amahl Bishara, anthropology professor at Tufts, argued the slogan simply calls for Palestinian freedom, not Israel’s elimination.

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Macklemore Barred Tour

Ed Sheeran removed rapper Macklemore from his Loop Tour after Macklemore’s pro-Palestine remarks.
Venue owner Robert Kraft said he would bar Macklemore from Gillette Stadium, prompting other venues to follow.
Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Irish band Beoga quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
Macklemore pledged to donate $1 million from tour earnings to Palestinian aid and challenged Kraft to match.

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