Massive Attack Backs Macklemore After Ed Sheeran Tour Removal
British trip-hop group Massive Attack has publicly backed Macklemore after the Seattle rapper was removed as an opening act on Ed Sheeran's North American stadium tour. According to Far Out Magazine, Macklemore was pulled after just two shows, following a September 14 performance in which he voiced support for Palestine to a crowd of 90,000. Massive Attack wrote on social media that entertainment can never outweigh resistance to apartheid and genocide.
What happened with the removal
Per Macklemore's own account, the decision followed pressure from Robert Kraft, owner of the Patriots and of Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, who reportedly rallied other stadium operators to issue an ultimatum to Sheeran: the tour could not continue with a pro-Palestine artist attached.
Sheeran later released a statement denying responsibility, saying Macklemore's exit from the tour was the promoters' decision, not his own. He added that fans coming to a show don't expect a political forum, and that nothing changes if the focus is only on who shouts loudest.
Fallout among other openers
After Sheeran's statement, several acts still slated to open on the tour withdrew in solidarity with Macklemore, including Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and Sheeran's own backing band Beoga. Garbage, Kneecap, Bob Vylan, and Zara Larsson have also publicly voiced support for Macklemore. The tour is scheduled to resume on September 19 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
Massive Attack's statement
Responding directly to Sheeran's framing, Massive Attack said that with more than 20,000 children killed, neutrality cannot be neutral, adding that no amount of money should make any artist tolerate another artist being censored.
The group further said that countries, corporations, and media enabling genocide to happen are trying to intimidate high-profile artists and actors into silence too, and said they stand with all artists risking their careers for Palestinian rights, opposing what they call Israel's illegal occupation, apartheid, and war crimes.
Why this matters
Massive Attack has a track record of taking political stances on stage — last month the group displayed a Palestinian flag during a performance in Singapore and was subsequently banned from performing there.