Ed Sheeran tour faces fallout after Macklemore dropped over anti-Israel comments
Tour fallout and planned protests hit Ed Sheeran after rapper Macklemore was dropped from his upcoming concert lineup following anti-Israel comments. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy defends the decision, stating fans did not pay to hear political rants. Senior correspondent Eric Shawn joins Harris Faulkner to discuss the controversy ahead of the September 19th show.
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Metallica frontman James Hetfield is calling out performers who bring political agendas to the stage.
During Metallica’s show at the Las Vegas Sphere on Saturday night, the 63-year-old musician took a moment to express his gratitude to fans who traveled to see the heavy metal band and blasted entertainers who turn concerts into political platforms.
“Unless you live in Vegas, you’ve come a long way to spend some time with Metallica,” he said in a video shared on YouTube. “We’re grateful for that — your travels, the money you spend, the time it took, thanks for coming to celebrate with us.”
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“I just gotta say, Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bulls—, OK?,” Hetfield continued as the audience clapped and cheered.
Metallica frontman James Hetfield slammed entertainers who use their concerts for political messaging. (Getty Images)
“We are here … no bulls— … we’re here to forget about all the outside s—, OK?” he added. “Metallica’s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby!”
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Although Hetfield did not name any artists, several musicians have recently made political statements during their concerts.
Last month, Macklemore was dropped from his remaining scheduled performances on Ed Sheeran’s “Loop Tour” after the rapper repeatedly called for a “Free Palestine” and performed his pro-Palestinian protest song “Hind’s Hall” while opening for the “Shape of You” singer at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Hetfield said Metallica would not influence fans with “their bulls—.” (Redferns)
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At the time, Macklemore said Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, told Sheeran that the “Thrift Shop” hitmaker “would not be allowed” to perform at the stadium.
Kraft later confirmed that he opposed Macklemore performing at Gillette Stadium, citing the rapper’s “recent actions” and what he called a “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.”
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Following Macklemore’s removal, all of Sheeran’s remaining opening acts and supporting musicians, including Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga, pulled out in solidarity with the rapper.
In an Instagram statement, Sheeran said he was not responsible for Macklemore’s removal, explaining that the promoter and venues made the decision.
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During his show in Philadelphia, Sheeran said he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine” and called the situation in Gaza “catastrophic and unjustifiable,” while describing the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel as “horrific.”
Macklemore (left) was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s (right) stadium tour over his “Free Palestine” remarks. (Getty Images)
Sheeran has also defended his decision to keep his concerts apolitical. The four-time Grammy winner said his audience includes children and fans from a wide range of backgrounds who “do not expect a political forum” when they attend his shows.
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Macklemore subsequently pledged to donate the $1 million he earned opening for Sheeran to organizations providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians. He also announced a three-date “Free Palestine Tour” scheduled for late October.
During the controversy, country singer Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” T-shirt during his sold-out concerts at Gillette Stadium in October.
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Other musicians who have made political statements during concerts include Bruce Springsteen, Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong and Kacey Musgraves.
Zach Bryan wore a “Free Palestine” T-shirt during his sold-out concerts at Gillette Stadium. (Gus Stewart/Redferns)
Meanwhile, Hetfield has long expressed his opposition to mixing music and politics. In a 2016 interview with the BBC, he explained that Metallica steered clear of divisive topics.
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“There’s a lot of polarization going on in the States, and I see it in other places as well,” he said. “But it just seems like you have to get more extreme to balance out the other extreme. We’ve got to find some balance in the middle here somewhere.”
“We stay away from politics [and] from religion,” Hetfield added. “That just seems to polarize people even more. We all have our own beliefs, but at the end of the day, we’re trying to connect with people, and it seems like political views don’t do that as much as music does.”
In a 2017 interview with the Chilean newspaper La Tercera, Hetfield declined to share his opinion of Donald Trump, who was president at the time, and reiterated his opposition to mixing music and politics.
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“Everyone has an opinion about Donald Trump, I think. My opinion stays with me,” he said.
“I’m a singer and guitar player in a rock band,” Hetfield continued.
“I hate politics,” he added. “I don’t want to talk about politics. That separates people, and I want to connect them with music. I prefer to stay out of all that, because it polarizes people, because if I say ‘I love Trump’ or ‘I hate Trump,’ someone can say ‘then I don’t like his music anymore,’ which is very silly.”
Hetfield has long said that he is against mixing music and politics. (Getty Images for Tribeca Festival)
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In a 2016 interview with Vulture, Hetfield’s Metallica bandmate Lars Ulrich, who has expressed liberal political views and opposition to Trump, said that he and Hetfield had never discussed politics during their decades of performing together.
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“I swear to you, I talk to James Hetfield about most things on this planet, but I don’t think I’ve ever willfully had a political conversation with him,” he said.
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“We’ve spent 35 years together, and obviously we’ve been in the same room when the conversation went towards politics, but James and I sitting down in a room and discussing our particular views on something like affordable health care? Never happened,” he added.
Metallica is currently performing its 24-show “Life Burns Faster” residency at Sphere in Las Vegas, which began Oct. 1 and is scheduled to conclude March 13, 2027.
