Macklemore has released a statement after he was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s US tour over backlash sparked by his ‘Free Palestine’ speech while opening for the singer in New Jersey earlier this monthResponding with an Instagram statement after it was confirmed that he will not be the opening act for the remainder of the LOOP Tour, the rapper claimed that Sheeran told him Robert Kraft orchestrated the move after ‘rallying stadium owners and issuing an ultimatum’.The 43-year-old rapper, whose real name is Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, was due to open for Sheeran at eight of the remaining ten shows on his tour in America, which continues Friday in Philadelphia. Macklemore had faced a boycott petition to remove him from the tour after he delivered a politically motivated speech in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank during his performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on September 4 and 5. In a statement on Instagram, Macklemore claimed that his long-term friend Sheeran had told him that Kraft personally called the singer to inform him that the rapper would not be allowed to perform at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts.Kraft is the billionaire CEO of the Kraft Group, which owns the Gillette stadium along with NFL team the New England Patriots. Macklemore has released a statement after he was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s US tour over backlash sparked by his ‘Free Palestine’ speech earlier this month. Pictured: Sheeran and Macklemore performing during the 2014 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas Macklemore claimed that his long-term friend Sheeran had told him that Kraft personally called the singer to inform him that the rapper would not be allowed to perform at Gillette StadiumHe wrote that ‘Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.’In his 1,000 word statement the rapper went on to say that he did not blame Sheeran personally, writing that his friend was put in a ‘f***ed up position’.’He told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with,’ Macklemore continued. ‘I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn’t get past his public facing, “I don’t take sides.” And I get why people don’t.”Taking a side can cost you,’ Macklemore added. ‘Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I’ve lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed.’He noted that the pair had had ‘some difficult conversations this past week’ and he hoped that ‘this isn’t the end of my relationship with Ed. Thirteen years of friendship doesn’t disappear because of one painful disagreement.’Kraft has defended his decision to block Macklemore from performing, saying the rapper ‘crossed a line’.’Gillette Stadium has a longstanding commitment to providing a welcoming environment for all guests and ensuring that events held at our venue do not provide a platform for hate speech,’ Kraft said in a statement. Macklemore stated that every human being deserves the same freedom, and told the crowd he wanted people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to know they had not been forgotten. Above, Macklemore on August 30 performing at the Goldencoast Rap Festival in France’Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25 and 26 concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.’The promoter for the American side of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, Messina Touring Group, said in a statement that they were told by venues of future dates on the tour that ‘they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup’.’Which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans,” a spokesperson continued to Rolling Stone. ‘After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates.’ As seen in fan-taken footage from his September 5 performance in New Jersey, Macklemore wore a keffiyeh at one point during his set and also performed his 2024 song Hind’s Hall with footage of Gaza on the massive screen behind him.In the lyrics for Hind’s Hall the rapper criticises actions in Gaza. Proceeds from the song go toward humanitarian efforts from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The full video from the performance shows Macklemore standing on stage and addressing the crowd. ‘One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages in stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine. I said, Free Palestine!’ he told the attendees.’I want those words to be loud and clear so that people from Gaza, all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them.’He then introduced Hind’s Hall, stating that it ‘was inspired by the bravery of Columbia University students who led an encampment movement that mobilized the entire world. Opened up hearts, myself included.”So thank you to those students that risked their diplomas, that risked their tuition, that risked their scholarships, that stood up and said, “No.” CUAD students, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace. Thank you guys.’He addressed the Jewish community, stating: ‘To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you.”My message is for peace. Love. For all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality. So I say free Palestine. I say free Lebanon. I say free Cuba. I say free Congo, free Sudan, free all people in America living in fear over this terrorist organization ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.’ Macklemore went on to post a video of his speech on social media with the caption: ‘Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial’. The singer Pink weighed in on the controversy, reposting an Instagram Story from StopAntisemitism, which slammed Macklemore’s performance.The caption on the post read: ‘Awful – Jewish fans bought tickets to see Ed Sheeran sing last night in NJ, not to be ambushed by Macklemore’s anti-Israel propaganda.’Instead, Macklemore walked onstage in a keffiyeh, shouted “Free Palestine,” accused Israel of a false “genocide,” and turned a mainstream event into a political nightmare against the Jewish state. Concert-goers are owed apologies and refunds.’In response, Macklemore appeared to double down on his comments last week, as he posted a clip of his speech from MetLife Stadium with the caption: ‘Wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial’.Pink did not add any additional commentary aside from re-sharing the post.In 2014, Macklemore issued an apology after wearing a disguise on stage in Seattle that many condemned as an anti-Semitic Jewish caricature.In his apology after the Jewish caricature controversy, he said: ‘There is no worse feeling than being misunderstood, especially when people are hurt or offended… I respect all cultures and all people. ‘I would never intentionally put down anybody for the fabric that makes them who they are. I love human beings, love originality, and… happen to love a weird outfit from time to time.’Macklemore added that he never thought he looked Jewish. ‘Some people there thought I looked like Ringo, some Abe Lincoln. If anything, I thought I looked like Humpty Hump with a bowl cut,’ he said. Macklemore’s statement in full I’m not sure how to start this. So I’m going to speak from the heart and share the truth. Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.But before I get into it, I want to say something that should be obvious. In this moment I think it matters. I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families.The victims are the Palestinian people. The men, women and children who have been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence. More than 20,000 children have been killed in Gaza alone. People are being killed today, and people will be killed tomorrow. I want to make sure that as I tell this story, we don’t lose sight of that.Ed is my friend. I’ve known him for 13 years. We’ve shared late nights, studio sessions and stages. He has this infectious magic about him that I’ve grown to love. I consider him a brother. And because of that, we’ve had some difficult conversations this past week. The type of talks rooted in love and respect for one another that still end in a place of fundamental disagreement. Nothing I’m writing here is out of spite or because I want to tear down his character. But as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can’t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.Ed was in a f**ked up position. He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words “Free Palestine” and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with. I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn’t get past his public facing, “I don’t take sides.”And I get why people don’t. Taking a side can cost you. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships and access. I’ve lost all of those things. But there is no neutral position between the oppressor and the oppressed. When one side has the bombs and bottomless financial and military support from America, refusing to take a side doesn’t leave you in the middle.What I said at MetLife I have been saying on stages around the world for almost three years. So why is it an issue now? Because now I’m sharing a stage with one of the biggest artists in the world, in some of the biggest stadiums in America. At a certain level of exposure, “Free Palestine” becomes too much of a risk. If I kept doing the shows, saying Free Palestine, with Ed implicitly supporting it, the crowd getting loud and showing undeniable support for Palestinian liberation, what artist might speak out next? The stage becomes resistance. Maybe that’s why this time it became so important to silence me.And one of the most effective ways to enforce that silence has been to weaponize the accusation of antisemitism. Antisemitism is real. And that is exactly why the word matters too much to be used as a shield against criticism of the Israeli state. When criticizing Israel, opposing Zionism or saying “Free Palestine” gets conflated with hatred of Jewish people, it doesn’t protect Jewish people. It protects Israel from accountability.I hope this isn’t the end of my relationship with Ed. Thirteen years of friendship doesn’t disappear because of one painful disagreement. I hope we both continue listening, studying what is happening in Palestine and wrestling with what neutrality means in a moment like this. My door will always be open to continuing that conversation.When my brother Omar was doing the subtitles for the video I posted from MetLife, I thanked him. He told me there’s a phrase in Arabic: ?? ??? ??? ????”La shukra ala wajeb.” There is no thanks for a duty.That stayed with me. Because that’s what this has become for me and millions of others around the world. A duty. Not something deserving of praise or gratitude. Not brave. Human.Who is winning the internet, who is getting canceled, who gets to play the stadium and who doesn’t, all of it becomes so small when held against what we are actually witnessing in Gaza and the West Bank. An entire people being displaced, starved and killed while the world debates which words we are allowed to use to describe it, how those words make us feel, and whether our discomfort matters more than the people living through a genocide.I didn’t need 10 shows from Ed. I needed 2. Two chances to stand in front of 90,000 people and say the words that somehow became too dangerous to say. Free Palestine.But if those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I’ve ever been on.