Macklemore Dropped From Sheeran Tour Over Palestine
Macklemore Dropped From Sheeran Tour Over Palestine
The News
Rapper Macklemore has been dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour after making pro-Palestine statements from the stage, Rolling Stone reported Monday.
Rolling Stone reported that several venues allegedly said they would not allow a concert featuring the rapper to take place.
Macklemore later published a long post about being fired from the tour and blamed New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, according to Variety.
Timeline
Rolling Stone reports that Macklemore is being dropped from Ed Sheeran's tour following several onstage "Free Palestine" statements, and that several venues allegedly told the tour they would not host a show with him on the bill.
Variety reports that Macklemore has responded in a lengthy post defending his speech and blaming Kraft, the Patriots owner, for his removal.
Reactions
Macklemore has defended the speech. Variety reported that he wrote a long post about being fired over his Palestine comments and pointed the finger at Kraft.
The reporting available on the story does not include a response from Kraft, from Sheeran or from the venues said to have objected to the rapper's appearance.
Why It Matters
The firing lands in the middle of an ongoing American fight over what performers can say about Israel and Gaza from a stage, and over who gets to decide — the artist, the promoter, or the building.
What's Next
Sheeran's tour dates are expected to continue without Macklemore. Whether Kraft, Sheeran's promoters or the venues answer Macklemore's accusation publicly is the next thing to watch.
More
Twelve outlets were covering the story on Wire within hours of the first report, spanning left- and center-leaning sources — a sign of how quickly the dispute moved from a concert stage to a national argument.
Poll
Should a venue be able to drop a performer over political statements made onstage?
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