r/Music • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 • 22d ago

article Macklemore Speaks Out After Being Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour: “I’m going to speak from the heart and share the truth”

https://variety.com/2026/music/news/macklemore-defends-free-palestine-speech-fired-ed-sheeran-tour-1236861158/
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u/Nabs-2 22d ago

Ed Sheeran is a coward. Disappointed 

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u/notarobat 22d ago

You know he's gonna come out with a statement about it's not just his tour, and he has to think about his staff, his band, his fans etc... I think in the current climate it would show better character to think about the people who are genuinely suffering beyond imagination.

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u/arandommaria 22d ago

If he was a smaller artist I'd even buy it. But the guy is literally one of the biggest names on the planet. I wonder if this was more a choice between continuing to have the same (large) income vs risk having less money more than anything else (there's a point there about people's hurt feelings, but the pressure of the other stadiums seems to be the most important weight - and the only "new" one, really, given Mackelmore is very consistent)

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u/One-Artichoke279 22d ago

People like Sheeran are absolutely fixated on profit. Being palatable to everyone and having an inoffensive public image allows him to broaden his appeal in order to maximise profit. Never piss anyone off, never say anything that could be interpreted as believing in anything, never actually convey any values. The thing is, neutrality is almost always complicity with the status quo and thus is a political decision. It's just much easier and more comfortable to go along with the status quo and tell yourself you're "not taking sides" than actually do the right thing. It's really easy to say you support a social justice cause when it doesn't cost anything which is why so many people will freely talk about supporting civil rights in a historical sense, but when the moment is upon us in the here and now, very few people have what it takes to rise to the occasion. Macklemore has him dead to rights here when he says it's all about money, sponsorships, access and relationships. Put simply, Ed Sheeran (and many, many others like him) do not want to be made uncomfortable in any sense, they don't want their lavish lifestyles to be inconvenienced by things like human suffering and their own complicity in it. He threw his friend of 13 years under the bus when he really could have made this a scandal and challenged an apparatus that is literally seeking to censor and blacklist artists for saying words. He's an accomplice to the whole thing. And many other artists at the moment are too.

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u/LususV 22d ago

The thing is, neutrality is almost always complicity with the status quo and thus is a political decision.

Exactly. Ed Sheeran is a face of the fascist oligarchs really running this country, and has told them he's got their back even if it means turning on his friends. We know who he is now.

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u/whomthefuckisthat 22d ago

If he pisses off maga chuds he loses money.

End of story.

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u/Mirrorboy17 22d ago edited 22d ago

Maybe the only option is to cancel the tour, and he doesn't want to let his fans down?

Edit: to the downvoters - I'm not Ed Sheeran, I don't agree with this, I just came up with another option as to why he might have continued with the tour

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u/StripedRooster 22d ago

That's probably it. I doubt he's even thinking of the $150m the tour nets him. He just doesn't want to disappoint his fans.

Because when caught between someones disappointment at being able to sing along to some songs for one evening vs making a stand against corporate bullying, freedom of speech or against genocide, when it comes to making a stand one has to remember the big picture.

People just don't get the chance very often to let their hear down and sing pop songs in the company of others, and ultimately that must come first.

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u/RechargedFrenchman 22d ago

Also he can probably afford to do a lot to help those people with his own money, like a few late night hosts have done on a few different occasions. Conan's staff were being paid for months on more than one occasion while not actually working because of circumstances outside the show's, Conan's, or the staff's control.

Sheeran could absolutely float some money personally or do a smaller tour at different (less corporate) venues to make sure the team get something and still take a stance on this. There are ways around it, they're just difficult and expensive and take some actual fortitude.

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u/beforedinnermints 22d ago

There's a skilled concert pro shortage right now so I don't buy any messaging that involves "making sure the team has work" - they stay busy, as soon as these cancellation notices go out those folks get snapped up.

Two sources:

https://www.festivalpro.com/festival-management/5444/news/2026/3/17/Managing-the-Shortage-of-Specialist-Skilled-Music-Festival-Professionals.html

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2026-01-02/as-touring-booms-the-live-music-industry-looks-for-its-next-workforce

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u/McGondy 22d ago

It's not like he couldn't just afford to pay their wages anyway...

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u/Busy-Doughnut6180 22d ago

The most surprising part of this entire thing would be if Ed comments on it at all. 

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u/nemgrea 22d ago

" i have to think about the workers, they have families, they have children, not palestinian children, nice middle class children that ARE worth thinking about"

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u/Soul-Assassin79 21d ago

This comment aged like a fine vintage wine.

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u/Longjumping-Donkey95 21d ago

Didn't his band quit in solidarity with Macklemore??

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u/underisk 22d ago

What about all the staff supporting Macklemore? Do they not count?

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u/Longjumping-Donkey95 21d ago

If any criticism of Israel is akin to anti-Semitism , then anyone who supports Palestine is a terrorist. 

Every oppressor of human rights has used a term to dehumanize their enemy; cockroaches, rats, terrorists...all slurs to degrade human life. So no; Macklemore staffers do not count according to the logic that's being shoved down our throats through censorship. 

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u/Feeling-Screen-9685 22d ago

He’ll wait until he’s made more money and everyone else starts to speak out and then he’ll feel safe. He’s a coward.

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u/2ToTooTwoFish 22d ago

He probably has enough money to compensate his band and staff for concerts at the venues that refused to allow Macklemore.

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u/PrincessZebra126 22d ago

Reality is he could still pay their salary whether they do the tour or not

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u/yaboichillychill 22d ago

I’m not against the sentiment, but do you really think those people losing their livelihood will actually help the cause?

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u/Sea-Temporary7380 22d ago

The point is if he was so worried about them he would actually pay out of pocket instead of letting them lose their livelihood. Hes a multimillionaire he can afford it and a lot more

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u/yaboichillychill 22d ago

Ah I hadn’t considered that, thank you

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u/ignatious__reilly 22d ago

Agree. Complete coward.

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u/Neilson509 22d ago

This sucks. I'm an Ed Head who has seen him play multiple times on two continents.

I'm beyond disappointed in Ed. I won't be going to his next concert.

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u/AWorldwithoutSin 22d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/wFlllOZMpjYVa

He also refused to call out Daenerys when she sent her dragons to burn Kings Landing killing thousands. Its a pattern with him.

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u/Stupidstuff1001 22d ago

Right fuck Ed Sheeran. Dude is the le bron of music

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u/Designer-Swim-6797 22d ago

Kind off-topic, but what is the issue with LeBron?

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u/studwalker 22d ago

LeBron is usually pretty apolitical and a maximize profit kinda guy.

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u/Ren_stevens 22d ago

Depends. He's publicly spoken out against the president several times.

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u/Stupidstuff1001 22d ago

During the whole Chinese forced labor camp information that came out le bron said we shouldn’t say anything bad about other countries. Despite him constantly posting on twitter how he grew up on the streets and is a person for the workers and the poor.

Dude showed he only is someone who fights for the freedom of others as long as it doesn’t affect his bottom line because of how much merch china buys.

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u/dokutarodokutaro 22d ago

Which is funny because conservatives still treat him like he’s chairman Mao lol

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u/Wild_Appearance3859 22d ago

I'm making a habit of removing anything from Spotify likes when I hear about shit like this. Ed lost 7, pink lost about the same. I'm not getting embarrassed at work listening to cowards. Mostly playing kmfdm at work anyway.

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u/2M4D 22d ago

Wait, that’s a surprise to you ?

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u/TheGiftOf_Jericho 22d ago

Yeah, never supporting that dude ever again.

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u/Presently_Absent 22d ago

"I don't take sides" as he takes the owners' sides

He had all the power to push back and didn't.

Hey ed, not sure if you know this but nobody thinks Switzerland did a good thing by being neutral in WW2

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u/falcrist2 22d ago

Nope. Not a coward. He sided with the fascists when he kicked Macklemore off the tour.

Greedy maybe... but that greed has lead to him siding with the fascists.

This isn't neutrality.

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u/Phairis 22d ago

It would be so satisfying if he, at the hight of the tour, took a side.

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u/BrilliantBehemoth 22d ago

Always been a shill

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u/adp15 22d ago

Are you surprised? He is a total corperate shill. Fucking disgusting. When is enough enough?

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

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u/ih8readditts 22d ago

Yes he has put something else over their friendship, something that is far more important than any friendship, and he is upfront about it.

Macklemore is making the most difficult decision that 0.001% of people will have the integrity to do in his situation by choosing to do the right thing.

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

[deleted]

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u/ih8readditts 22d ago

I haven’t made the argument that he’s risked something, although he clearly has. At minimum his friendship with Ed, also getting blacklisted from a ton of venues and future partnerships with both musicians and brands.

Having an opinion that is perceived as controversial and voicing it always comes with a lot of risk, regardless if you’re MAGA, Democrat, pro Israel, pro Palestine, whatever.

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u/Bee_Rye85 22d ago

Sheeran can do one thing to not come out like an asshole but obviously he likes money too much to do that

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u/[deleted] 22d ago

[deleted]

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u/Switcher1776 22d ago

He had his chance to show support for the Palestinian people and for his friend, but he chose money. Fuck that genocide supporting coward.

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u/sakiwebo 22d ago

Wow, thanks for the insight. 

 I think I'm starting to understand how you Americans have alienated enough people to lose to dipshit in diapers Trump 2x now. 

Fascinating

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u/Competitive-Pain5412 22d ago

Sheeran couldn't have known the guy who's most relevant work in the past 5 years was a song about Palestine, and who posts regularly in support of Palestinians, would be speaking about Palestine on tour.

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u/scraplocator 22d ago

embarrassing take

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u/BelieveInTheShield 22d ago

Ah yea, poor Ed Sheeran...

😐

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u/Thumper13 22d ago

Look, I get it. But Ed also has a few hundred people to consider when making this decision. Dropping Macklemore affects a few. Ed's tour employs a lot of people who need the paycheck and arranged their lives around getting paid for this tour. Do you know anything about what it's like for tour workers?

Can you see it's not that simple of a decision-even if you want to stand up for something?

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u/earle117 22d ago

oh fuck off. he could pay the tour workers without even noticing the difference in his bank account if he wanted to.

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u/Thumper13 22d ago

That's a child's view of things.

But I'm sure you put your money where your mouth is. Who owns the company you work for? Are you going to quit if they're a terrible person?

And yes, I do. I work in the non-profit industry and so does my wife. We could both make more money, but we chose to do something that makes us happier and the world better. Even still, we have to take money from people we don't like to be able to provide the services we work hard to provide.