Finneas and Aaron Rowe withdrew as opening acts for Ed Sheeran on Tuesday in protest of Macklemore being dropped from the tour after the rapper says New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft organized a boycott against him.
Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, joined Sheeran’s “Loop” tour in New Jersey earlier this month. He made remarks to the Metlife Stadium crowd that included the phrase “Free Palestine” before performing his protest anthem “Hind’s Hall.”
He announced Monday that he was no longer on the tour after that Kraft called Sheeran and threatened to cancel Sheeran’s planned tour stop if Macklemore was still performing.
Finneas put out a statement the next day saying he decided to withdraw from his upcoming tour dates with Sheeran. He wrote on Instagram that he stands “with Palestine and its people.”
“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote.
This is not the singer’s first public display of support for Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war. He and his younger sister, Billie Eilish, joined fellow celebrities last year to promote a benefit concert to support relief efforts called “Together for Palestine.”
Finneas’ statement came roughly an hour after one of Sheeran’s other openers, Irish singer Aaron Rowe, announced he was dropping out.
Rowe posted his statement to Instagram as well, saying in part that he could not stand by while billionaires silenced voices speaking up against “Israeli genocide” and those who highlight the “savage murder of children.”
“Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life, I could never thank him enough for this,” Rowe wrote. “But as Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine, and violent occupation.”
A United Nations commission said that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza in findings from an independent inquiry published last year. Israeli government officials have denied the allegations, calling them “distorted and false.”
Sheeran put out a statement Tuesday morning as backlash against him grew clarifying that it was not his decision to remove Macklemore from the tour. The “Shape of You” singer said he spent a week trying to build bridges after venues began to reach out to him to say they would pull his shows if Macklemore was still a supporting act.
“I was informed that this stance was based on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance, rather than everything that was said,” Sheeran said. “I spoke with venues at length all week to try and build a bridge. One of those people was Robert Kraft.”
But Sheeran says it was his concert promoter who held the contract with Macklemore and the promoter who chose to drop the rapper. He expressed his respect for Macklemore’s “strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes.”
Messina Touring Group, the promoter for Sheeran’s tour, told Rolling Stone Monday that it was informed that multiple venues “will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.” The statement said cancellations would “impact hundreds of thousands of fans,” confirming that Macklemore would no longer perform on his previously scheduled dates.
The company did not respond to multiple requests for comment from NBC News regarding Macklemore’s removal from the tour.
In his own statement on Monday, Kraft did not deny Macklemore’s accusations.
He said the decision to bar the artist from Gillette Stadium was based on Macklemore’s “recent actions” on stage and “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.” Kraft added that the decision was not about trying to stifle Palestinian advocacy or diminishing the suffering of Palestinians.
“I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with Macklemore and discuss the facts, because ultimately our goal is the same — peace for all people, an end to suffering, and an end to all hate,” Kraft said.
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