Macklemore Responds to Ed Sheeran Tour Exit by Launching His Own "Free Palestine" Run

Two weeks ago, Macklemore was still opening for Ed Sheeran on the Loop Tour. Two weeks later, he's got tour posters of his own for three cities. What happened in between turned an opening slot into a fight over who gets to decide what can be said onstage.

Macklemore's newly announced "Free Palestine" tour will hit Dublin on October 26, Paris on October 29, and London on October 30. All three shows are benefit concerts, with proceeds going to organizations supporting Palestinians and related relief efforts. Specific venues and lineup details haven't been released yet. Fans can sign up for ticket info at macklemore.com, with presale opening next Monday at 10am local time and general onsale the following Wednesday at the same time.

The tour traces back to Macklemore shouting "Free Palestine" during two of Ed Sheeran's MetLife Stadium shows, while footage of Israeli destruction in Gaza played on the big screen. Not long after, he was dropped from the tour, and he claimed Sheeran had caved to pressure from a group of venue owners led by Robert Kraft. Sheeran confirmed the encounter with Kraft in a statement the next day, saying he'd been given an ultimatum: cut Macklemore from the opening lineup or risk being shut out of certain venues.

Sheeran said he was "not complicit," but his backing band and several opening acts—including Billie Eilish's brother and producer FINNEAS—announced they were pulling out of subsequent dates in solidarity. Macklemore then pledged to donate his $1 million fee from the two Sheeran tour dates to Palestinian aid, publicly calling on Kraft to match the donation. Kraft later posted a vaguely worded statement claiming Sheeran had asked him to donate $2 million to charities in the region, but didn't confirm whether he'd actually follow through or name which organizations he'd support.

Sheeran faced protesters outside his first Philadelphia show after the controversy broke, where he teared up onstage and read a statement off the teleprompter.

In his tour announcement, Macklemore said he spent a week reaching out to artists "willing to stand up for the Palestinian people on their own stages, regardless of the consequences," adding that U.S. dates and a full lineup of collaborators would be announced soon.