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Singer Ed Sheeran defended on Tuesday night his decision to continue his US tour after rapper Macklemore — one of his supporting acts — was dropped for calling for a free Palestine on stage. The tour has become a litmus test for support for Palestine, as all four opening acts have since announced they are dropping out of the shows.

Sheeran posted a statement on Instagram, saying he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine” and that there were “too many wars across the world”.

“The suffering and pain caused on both sides is human tragedy,” Sheeran said.

The singer said Macklemore had approached him a year ago to join the tour and like all of Sheeran’s other supporting acts, he was allowed to choose his own setlist.

Sheeran confirmed that the rapper was dropped from the tour following threats from venue owners — including Robert Kraft, an American billionaire with ties to Israel — saying they would not allow shows to proceed if Macklemore was performing.

The singer said he spent a week talking to venues and to “promoters, along with activists on both sides” to try and come to a resolution, “but the venues’ and promoters’ decision was final”.

Sheeran said he would never let down his fans, nor would he abandon the people attached to his tour, but the decision to boot Macklemore from the tour came from the promoter.

The ‘Shape of You’ singer said his shows were “a place for everyone to feel welcome” and he had his “personal views on the devastating conflict” that he chooses to keep away from his professional platform.

“There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics — my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum,” he wrote.

While Macklemore said the singer was a friend he happened to disagree with, Sheeran just said he respects the rapper’s “strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes”. He said there was, however, “room for multiple approaches to the same end: peace”.

“If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change,” Sheeran said.

Supporting acts withdraw from tour

The backlash to Sheeran’s statement was severe, with all the musical artists set to perform with him bowing out from the tour in support of Macklemore.

Singer Finneas, who was set to support Sheeran in six shows in November, withdrew from the tour on Tuesday saying, “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed. I have decided to withdraw from my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.”

Irish singer Aaron Rowe, who had 10 upcoming shows on Sheeran’s tour, called the singer a friend, but said he couldn’t continue to be part of the tour. In a post on Instagram on Tuesday night, he said the people of Ireland “know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation”.

Rowe said, “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.”

Irish pop group Beoga, who also play as the tour’s live band, said they had been friends of Sheeran’s and will continue to be. “As musicians, playing to [crowds as big as Sheeran’s] is the stuff of dreams, but to play in venues that silence anyone advocating for a Free Palestine is simply not an option for us.”

Danish pop band Lukas Graham also dropped out of the tour on Tuesday. “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,” wrote lead singer Lukas Forchhammer on the band’s social media accounts.

“Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”

Macklemore has been outspoken about his support for Palestine, but this recent controversy comes after the rapper addressed one of Sheeran’s concerts in New York on September 4. His calls for a “Free Palestine” on stage sparked a petition from the American Israeli Council wishing to see him booted from the tour.

He responded to the backlash by releasing a speech from the venue on Instagram, where he reiterated his stance and said he wanted the words to be loud and clear, “so the people from Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them”.

The rapper made these remarks before performing ‘Hind’s Hall’, his 2024 protest song paying tribute to students at New York’s Columbia rallying against Israel’s war on Gaza and renaming one of their campus halls of residence after Hind Rajab — a six-year-old girl killed by Israel in 2024.

One of the most prominent faces in the recent campaign against Macklemore, Kraft, is an alumnus of Columbia University. He suspended his family’s financial support of the institution in the wake of pro-Palestine student protests, saying he was “not comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken”.

Meanwhile, violence continues in Gaza, where Israeli forces have killed 73,786 people since the war started in 2023 despite a ceasefire being in place since October 2025.

Lebanon is also facing military aggression, with Israel occupying parts of the country and killing nearly 9,000 people since 2023.