Ed Sheeran tour in turmoil as opening acts quit

What happened

Ed Sheeran’s world tour unraveled Tuesday after all his remaining supporting acts quit in solidarity with the rapper Macklemore and his onstage support of Palestinians. Macklemore said Monday that he was dropped from the tour after New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft “rallied some of the other stadium owners” to give Sheeran an ultimatum: No Macklemore or no concert.

Who said what

Tuesday’s tour pullouts by Finneas, Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga “put enormous pressure on Sheeran, who has tried to avoid politics and taking a side in the Gaza conflict,” The Associated Press said. “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas, brother and collaborator of Billie Eilish, said on social media.

Kraft said Monday that Macklemore’s pro-Palestine statements at Sheeran’s recent New Jersey shows and “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric” crossed a line. Dropping Macklemore “was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine,” Sheeran wrote on Instagram. “I have my personal views on this devastating conflict,” but “I choose not to speak publicly” because concertgoers “do not expect a political forum.” That “doesn’t mean I don’t care.”

What next?

Sheeran has shows scheduled in North and South America through December. Most of the seven U.S. stadiums “are publicly owned,” CNN said. At least two recently had or will soon host concerts by Ye, “who made a spate of antisemitic comments that he now attributes to a brain injury and untreated bipolar disorder.”

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