Ed Sheeran Tour Descends Into Chaos Over Macklemore

Charlie Cotton (0:08)

Good afternoon, I am Branson Quirk and welcome to The TMZ Podcast.

Netta (0:13)

Thanks for having me again. It's an honor.

Brendon Geoffrion (0:16)

Wow.

Netta (0:16)

My name is Netta, it rhymes with fetta.

Charlie Cotton (0:18)

Twice in a row. Same day, Netta is back.

Netta (0:21)

Double homicide.

Charlie Cotton (0:23)

Double homicide, what does that mean?

Netta (0:25)

Oh, he's not on the internet. That's okay.

Charlie Cotton (0:27)

No, no, I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Welcome back, Netta.

So there is a story that has captivated the world right now. And we didn't cover it this morning. This has actually been going on for a little bit.

I'm sure all of you have seen this. Ed Sheeran, Macklemore, the drama is unfolding. Ed is under fire right now. Ed Sheeran is taking some serious backlash over Macklemore being dropped from his tour. And notably, Ed Sheeran has taken a no-side stance, is apolitical, is staying neutral, and that's rubbed people the wrong way. Right? He's got all these shows coming up.

Netta (1:05)

He's lost a lot of followers.

Charlie Cotton (1:07)

A lot.

Netta (1:08)

And it makes me wonder... I think more than 200,000.

Charlie Cotton (1:10)

Who's going to go to these concerts?

Who's going to come out to these concerts now after all of this has happened? I'm sure that they'll still see some turnout, but this could really affect his tour. More so than what they initially thought would cause cancelations of the tour because of Macklemore's comments. Let's give you some context, because there really is a lot here, right, Tony? Tony's nodding because he had to write all of these notes. Bear with us here. There's a lot.

Netta (1:36)

Thanks, Tony.

Charlie Cotton (1:36)

Macklemore, he was removed from Ed Sheeran's tour over backlash over his pro-Palestine comments during an opening performance. If you didn't catch the video, and you and I both watched it before this, he goes on stage, Macklemore, in front of 80,000 people.

Netta (1:55)

He went rogue.

Charlie Cotton (1:57)

I mean, he just spoke what he felt and what he believed, right? So he immediately said, the reason I came on these tours on the stages, and I wanted to get on these stages across America, is because I wanted to say two words that are very near and dear to my heart.

Those two words, free Palestine. And I went on and on about that. And crowd was cheering. So initially, nobody thought anything would come out of it. That's his opinion.

Netta (2:23)

And we can't forget about the images of Gaza and pro-Palestinian demonstrations on the screen behind me as well.

Charlie Cotton (2:29)

Right, he was showing videos.

Netta (2:30)

So there was like images attached to it. It was almost like performance art or something.

Charlie Cotton (2:34)

Right, right. So he was actively showing these things during that concert.

And then after that, shortly after, Pink, one of the first celebrities to speak out about this, she had made her opinions voiced as well. And then it took a massive turn for the worse for Macklemore. Robert Kraft and other NFL owners blacklisted him from the Ed Sheeran tour. So Macklemore claims that Robert Kraft and other stadium owners pressured Ed Sheeran to remove him from the tour after his pro-Palestine comments at MetLife Stadium. Macklemore says Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, told Sheeran that the singer could not perform Kraft's venue if Macklemore was involved. Macklemore claims the stadium owners gave Sheeran an ultimatum, drop Macklemore or lose access to their stadiums. These stadiums are identified as Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which Kraft owns as one of the venues involved. That's a massive stadium, okay, for context. And then Macklemore gave his account of the dispute saying, in a lengthy statement on Instagram, explaining his version of events, saying that Ed told him Kraft called after Macklemore's comments at MetLife Stadium went viral. He says Kraft then got other stadium owners on board, creating pressure for Sheeran to remove him from the tour.

He claims that Kraft said he would not be allowed to perform at Gillette Stadium. And that's where this conflict with Ed Sheeran allegedly begins, okay? Because Ed Sheeran is taking his very neutral stance as many have, and Macklemore is upset by that. He thinks that that's, you know, there is no side.

Brendon Geoffrion (4:24)

Well, they were like brothers.

Netta (4:25)

They've been friends for 13 years also. So it's political, but it's also like, hey, we've been friends for years.

Brendon Geoffrion (4:33)

Right.

Netta (4:33)

What the heck, man?

Charlie Cotton (4:34)

Right, right. He says the two had several difficult conversations during the previous week. Macklemore described the disagreement between them as a quote, fundamental disagreement. He says Sheeran told him the words free Palestine and the Palestinian flag had upset people he had spoken with. And Macklemore says Sheeran repeatedly returned to the position, quote, I don't take sides. Macklemore argued that there is no neutral position regarding what is happening in Gaza.