Ed Sheeran Tour On Verge Of Collapse After Acts Quit In Solidarity With Macklemore
Ed Sheeran’s tour is teetering on collapse after every supporting act walked out in solidarity with Macklemore.
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Sheeran’s entire live band and four opening acts walked away from the tour after Robert Kraft banned Macklemore from his stadium over his pro-Palestinian comments and Sheeran opted to move forward without him.
The backlash quickly spilled onto social media, where angry fans slammed the decision and questioned Sheeran’s handling of the situation. Fans, politicians, and fellow celebrities have declared a boycott of Sheeran’s concerts and music, as his social media following quickly drops off.
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Finneas, who was slated to open for Sheeran during six South American shows in November, announced Tuesday afternoon that he was pulling out of the tour.
“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote on social media.
His announcement came shortly after Irish singer Aaron Rowe, who opened for Sheeran in Australia earlier this year and was scheduled to perform at the 10 remaining North American dates, revealed he was also withdrawing.
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“I don’t take the decision lightly,” Rowe wrote on Instagram. “Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life, I could never thank him enough for this,” he began.
“But as Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation. I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children.”
“I would lose all respect for myself to carry on as normal,” he wrote.
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Irish band Beoga, which performs as Sheeran’s backing band, followed Rowe by announcing it would also leave the U.S. tour in protest of what it called the “silencing of Macklemore by zionist lobbies.”
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Danish pop band Lukas Graham joined the exodus Tuesday afternoon. Lead singer Lukas Forchhammer said “We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up. Wherever they live. Whatever flag flies over them.”
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“Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation.”
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The backlash has now cast a shadow over the remainder of Sheeran’s tour, with questions swirling about whether the Grammy-winning artist can carry the show alone, or find suitable replacements willing to step into the crossfire.
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Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters laid into Sheeran in a video shared online.
“There are two kinds of people in this world, there’s people who do the right thing, that rapper Macklemore would be one of those people,” he said.
Waters then called out Sheeran by saying that there are “Little pricks like you who do the wrong thing.”
“Wicked” actress Marissa Bode slammed Sheeran online by writing, “Ed Sheeran, my legs may not work like they used to before, but at least I have a f**king spine. Free Palestine, bitch!”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib shaded Sheeran in an interview with TMZ by commenting on his refusal to back Macklemore.
“It just shows who’s courageous and who’s not,” she said.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she’d change the channel if she heard Sheeran’s songs on the radio.
“When you see what Robert Kraft did, to line up all of the stadiums, to censor speech in that one specific way it’s become clear that this is not just about one music artist or two music artists, but this is about how just a handful of stadium owners and the elite can prevent an entire massive issue,” Ocasio-Cortez added. (RELATED: Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Defends Anti-Free Speech Pressure Campaign Against Macklemore)
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“We need to be very clear about how dangerous a precedent this is,” the New York Congresswoman continued.
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Sheeran has given no indication that he plans to cancel the tour.
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