How the Gaza war upended Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour: boycotts, walkouts and mounting criticism

Ed Sheeran is facing boycott calls, artist desertions and growing criticism after the removal of support act Macklemore from dates on his Loop Tour following the rapper’s pro-Palestine remarks, a chain of events that has dragged one of pop music’s biggest names into the political fallout from the Gaza war.

What happened on the Loop Tour

Macklemore spoke in favour of Palestinian rights and said “free Palestine” while performing as a warm-up act for Sheeran at concerts at the New Jersey MetLife stadium on September 4 and 5. He was later dropped from subsequent concerts, a decision the report attributes to pressure from US stadium owners, including billionaire Robert Kraft.

Immediate backlash and artist walkouts

The decision to remove Macklemore triggered public criticism and calls for boycotts of Sheeran’s tour. Singer Finneas wrote on social media:

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,”

and, according to the source, he and three other support acts walked out on Sheeran on Tuesday.

Veteran British singer-songwriter Billy Bragg urged a stronger stance, writing:

“If I was Ed, I’d swallow my pride and cancel the tour,”

while Palestinian campaign group PACBI, which promotes a cultural boycott of Israel, called for Macklemore to be reinstated and said:

“Until then, we call on opening artists, audiences and where possible crew to boycott the complicit tour,”

the report says.

Where the controversy fits in the wider cultural debate

The story places Sheeran’s predicament in the context of heightened activism around the Gaza war, which began after Israel invaded Gaza in October 2023. The report quotes Julie Norman, a UCL academic, saying:

“Palestine is much more at the forefront than it has ever been,”

and that what many saw on social media had “galvanised a new generation” around the issue.

Music writer Neil March told AFP:

“What’s a shame is that he (Sheeran) is somebody who is powerful enough and has a big enough status that he could have actually put his foot down,”

and later commented on music and politics:

“Music’s never been politically neutral… it’s an excuse, and I don’t think anybody is really buying it,”

the source reports.

Sheeran’s past statements and current position

The report notes that Sheeran told fans in a statement this week that he does “not use my professional platform for politics.” It also records past incidents when Sheeran engaged in public causes: he performed at a pro-Ukraine concert after Russia’s 2022 invasion, signed an open letter warning about Brexit in 2018, supported the anti-poverty initiative Comic Relief in Britain, and told The Sunday Times in 2017 that he “loved” then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, according to the source.

Industry reaction and possible impact

Gretchen Larsen, a professor who studies the music business, told AFP that Sheeran’s most committed fans were unlikely to abandon him, but that more casual listeners might feel alienated. She is quoted as saying:

“To some extent, his response isn’t a neutral response because he’s allowed those ‘powers’ to silence certain artists and he’s gone along with that, so his initial response is a political position,”

adding:

“Clearly there’s some real discomfort about how this whole situation is being managed,”

the report states.

What comes next

The Loop Tour and Sheeran’s public standing were, at the time of the report, in a state of flux as criticism continued to mount and calls for boycotts and walkouts reverberated across social media and the music industry.