Entertainment · Music · 3 hrs ago
Jack Antonoff criticizes Ed Sheeran over Macklemore’s tour removal
Jack Antonoff criticized Ed Sheeran for removing Macklemore from Sheeran’s Loop Tour.
Macklemore had performed at two tour shows and made pro-Palestinian remarks, including a speech and a performance of his protest song “Hind’s Hall.”
Stadium owners allegedly threatened not to host Sheeran’s shows if Macklemore remained on the bill.
Antonoff said Sheeran should have canceled the tour and performed for free instead of yielding to pressure from wealthy venue owners.
Several other tour performers left in solidarity with Macklemore, including Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe.
Sheeran apologized during a Philadelphia show and said he was deeply concerned about freedom of speech.
The dispute has raised questions about artists’ ability to speak freely when venues or promoters may object to their political statements.
Jack Antonoff criticized Ed Sheeran for removing Macklemore from Sheeran’s Loop Tour after Macklemore made pro-Palestine remarks onstage.
Antonoff said Sheeran should have canceled the tour and performed for free rather than yield to pressure from stadium owners.
Sheeran’s tour had been affected after Robert Kraft and other stadium owners allegedly threatened not to host shows if Macklemore remained.
Sheeran said he was not complicit in Macklemore’s removal and later described the situation as painful.
Sheeran’s supporting acts left the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
- Who
- Jack Antonoff criticized Ed Sheeran over Macklemore’s removal from Sheeran’s tour.
- What
- Antonoff said Sheeran should have resisted pressure from stadium owners. Macklemore had made pro-Palestine remarks onstage.
- When
- Antonoff’s interview with The Guardian was published on Sunday, according to The Independent. The articles were published on October 26, 2026.
- Where
- The comments were made in an interview with The Guardian. Macklemore’s remarks were made during shows on Sheeran’s Loop Tour.
- Why
- The criticism followed Macklemore’s removal from the tour after his pro-Palestine remarks and reported pressure from stadium owners.
Jack Antonoff
Ed Sheeran
Response to pressure
Jack Antonoff
Sheeran should have canceled the tour and played for free rather than let a billionaire or promoter dictate his choices.
Ed Sheeran
Sheeran said he was not complicit in Macklemore’s firing; the sources do not report him directly responding to Antonoff’s criticism.
Position on the remarks
Jack Antonoff
Antonoff said support for Palestine was a deeply human thing to express and that he felt more emboldened to say it.
Ed Sheeran
Sheeran said what happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on October 7 was horrific, and what was happening in Gaza was catastrophic and unjustifiable.
Macklemore performed at two shows on Sheeran’s Loop Tour and made pro-Palestine remarks, including a “Free Palestine” speech.
Macklemore was removed from the tour after stadium owners allegedly threatened not to host Sheeran’s shows if he remained.
Sheeran’s supporting acts left the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
Sheeran said at a Philadelphia concert that he was deeply worried about freedom of speech, according to the Daily Mail.
The Guardian published Antonoff’s interview criticizing Sheeran’s handling of the controversy.
- Tour
- Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour
- Removed performer
- Macklemore
- Critic
- Jack Antonoff, Bleachers frontman
- Stadium owner
- Robert Kraft
- Supporting acts
- Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe; The Independent says all four supporting acts left
- Articles published
- October 26, 2026
2 sources
What people are saying
So stand the f*** up.
They’re going to let some f***ing promoter tell me what I can say? Don’t book me. I’ll play for free outside.
It’s not in any way a strange, uncomfortable or controversial thing to say, it’s a deeply human thing to say.
What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.