From Variety · William Earl · · 1m 20s
Macklemore says a stadium owner got him dropped
Macklemore lost the rest of Ed Sheeran's U.S. tour dates over a Palestine comment, and he says the ban came from outside the tour.
In brief
Macklemore lost the rest of Ed Sheeran's U.S. tour dates over a Palestine comment, and he says the ban came from outside the tour. Macklemore claims the ban came from stadium owners, not Ed Sheeran, with Robert Kraft rallying them. Originally reported by Variety.
Off the tour
Macklemore was dropped from the remaining U.S. dates of Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour after comments he made onstage about Palestine drew controversy.
The phrase at the center
Macklemore says Sheeran told him that saying "Free Palestine" was hurtful to a lot of people, which is the reason he was given for the split.
“'Free Palestine' was 'hurtful to a lot of people'”
He responded on Instagram
Rather than stay quiet, Macklemore posted a lengthy statement laying out his version of how the removal happened.
He points at Robert Kraft
In the post, Macklemore seems to blame New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, saying the billionaire rallied other stadium owners to refuse him their venues.
Not Sheeran, not Pink
Macklemore's account puts the ban on venue owners rather than Sheeran, or even Pink, who had also commented on his onstage statements.
Kraft stays silent
Variety contacted a representative for Kraft, who did not immediately have a comment on the claim.
The essence
Macklemore claims the ban came from stadium owners, not Ed Sheeran, with Robert Kraft rallying them.
