Ed Sheeran faces mounting pressure to cancel tour as Macklemore row spirals into biggest crisis of his career
From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026.
Macklemore, whose $1 million pledge to Palestinian relief has reignited debate over resurfaced photos of him in a costume critics have condemned as an anti-Semitic Jewish disguise.Ed Sheeran, whose remaining Loop Tour support acts — Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga — have all quit in solidarity with Macklemore following the rapper's dismissal.Robert Kraft, who has announced a joint $2 million donation with Ed Sheeran to Palestinian relief groups in direct response to Macklemore's challenge.A Classic Hits Radio Ireland-branded car. The broadcaster's home country is represented by folk band Beoga, one of four Loop Tour support acts to quit Ed Sheeran's tour in solidarity with Macklemore.
Classic Hits Radio, an Irish independent station, has dropped Ed Sheeran's music from its playlist for the "foreseeable future" after listener backlash over his handling of the Macklemore Palestine row. Group programme director Dave Kelly said the decision "is not intended as a personal judgment" but reflects the station's duty to stand alongside Irish artists who quit Sheeran's Loop Tour in protest. Activist Billy Bragg, 68, warned the dispute "could tarnish his career" and urged Sheeran to cancel the tour rather than let "billionaires decide what can and cannot be said" at his gigs. Shane MacGowan's widow Victoria Mary Clarke also took to X to urge Sheeran to pull out, saying it is "never too late."
Macklemore was dropped from the Loop Tour on 14 September after performing his pro-Palestinian song 'Hind's Hall' at MetLife Stadium; all remaining support acts, including Finneas and Lukas Graham, then quit in solidarity.
Resale ticket prices have fallen 25 per cent for Sheeran's upcoming Philadelphia show, with fans complaining they cannot even give tickets away on dedicated resale pages.
Sheeran secretly donated £1.5m to Middle East aid and asked Robert Kraft to match it, but the gesture has done little to quiet the fury engulfing his tour.
