British singer Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour has fallen into deeper chaos after supporting acts for his North and South American tour withdrew from the concerts in solidarity with rapper Macklemore following his removal from the tour over outspoken support for Palestine.
On Tuesday, four artists announced their departure from Sheeran’s concerts in support of Macklemore and the people of Gaza, who have been facing a deepening humanitarian crisis amid ongoing violence, displacement, shortages of essential supplies and widespread destruction.
‘Artists must not be silenced’
Following the backlash over Macklemore’s removal from the tour, Sheeran broke his silence, saying the rapper’s removal was not his decision, but that of the promoter.
He also said that despite his efforts to communicate with the venue and the promoter to change their decision, he could not convince them.
Sheeran also stated that for the sake of his fans, who are mostly young people from all backgrounds, he would remain publicly apolitical – but acknowledged that “the suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy”.
This statement seemed to do more harm than good, though, as hours later many artists pulled out of the concerts, including American singer-songwriter and producer Finneas O’Connell.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, O’Connell announced that he was withdrawing from his upcoming tour dates with Sheeran in six South American shows in November and December.
“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote.
He concluded with a statement of support for Palestinians: “I stand with Palestine and its people.”
Rowe first to pull out
Irish singer Aaron Rowe, who is also one of the supporting acts, was the first to announce his decision to withdraw from the tour.
The Irish singer pointed to Ireland’s own history of famine, occupation and conflict in explaining his decision, saying he could not continue with the tour while believing that artists were being prevented from speaking about Palestinian suffering.
“I cannot stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up against Israeli genocide and who highlight the savage murder of children,” Rowe said, adding that if he does, he “would lose all respect” for himself.
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Lukas Graham then follows suit
Danish band Lukas Graham likewise announced that it would no longer participate.
The band said it was difficult to watch families around the world lose loved ones and argued that artists should be able to speak about war, civilian deaths and children regardless of where they live.
Lead singer Lukas Forchhammer also criticised the influence of wealth, saying that money should not determine who gets to speak or which suffering can be acknowledged.
Beoga departure promises bigger impact
Another casualty of Sheeran’s tour was Irish band Beoga, which decided to withdraw over what it described as the “silencing of Macklemore by Zionist lobbies”.
“We are a traditional Irish band who never saw ourselves playing in stadiums of that size, and that opportunity is not lost on us,” they wrote on social media.
“We believe in dialogue as a means of progressing the plight of the Palestinian people.”
Unlike the three artists who were opening acts for the Loop Tour, the band had been performing alongside the British singer as part of his touring set-up – which includes songs the group had co-written with him.
Its departure therefore potentially creates a different challenge for the “Shape of You” singer.
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More artists side with Macklemore
As if the withdrawals were not enough, more artists have criticised Sheeran for his statement and sided with Macklemore, including children’s educator and YouTube star Ms Rachel.
“Ed Sheeran had an opportunity to show that we won’t be bullied into punishing people for supporting Palestine,” she said, emphasising that Gaza is experiencing genocide and that people should speak about it.
“Instead, he caved to people who refuse to accept what the world knows.”
Singer Kehlani, meanwhile, showed support for Macklemore, saying she was honoured to know him.
Rock band Garbage also sided with Macklemore, describing the decision to remove him from the tour as “sheer madness” and “so wildly unjust”.
They moreover defended Macklemore’s words, saying that although his remarks were not anti-Semitic, “he is being punished for simply pleading for the occupation, the oppression and the violence to stop”.
MUNA showed support for Macklemore too, describing those who silence free speech about genocide as pathetic.
Loop tour faces uncertain road
The withdrawals leave Sheeran’s upcoming shows without the support line-up that had been scheduled for the remaining North American dates.
According to ABC News, the tour is due to resume on Saturday in Philadelphia, with nine North American dates remaining before Sheeran moves on to South America.
As of Wednesday, Sheeran’s team had yet to announce whether there would be a replacement opening act.
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