Ed Sheeran stood on stage in Philadelphia on Saturday night and told 70,000 people he’d made “mistakes.” He apologized. He got emotional. He said he didn’t know whether the tour would carry on, or whether he even wanted to be an artist anymore.
And here’s the thing. He didn’t drop Macklemore. He says the promoter did. The promoter says the venues made them do it. And the venues? Robert Kraft told them to.
Miguel Saddi Vitorino / PexelsFollow the chain. It’s not complicated. Kraft owns Gillette Stadium. Kraft is a billionaire. Kraft didn’t like what Macklemore said about Palestine, so he picked up the phone and that was that. One man, one phone call, and a rapper lost his job. The promoter, Messina Touring Group, fell right in line. They told Rolling Stone that “multiple venues will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.” Translation: the billionaires made their calls and the hired help obeyed.
Every single opening act walked. Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, Finneas, Beoga. They saw what happened and they had the guts to say no. Good for them. Meanwhile Sheeran is up there apologizing for “mistakes” he didn’t even make, talking about how he’s “deeply worried” that venues might “pre-approve content.” Worried? Buddy, that already happened. It happened to your own tour. You’re describing the thing that just ran you over.
Outside the stadium, protesters in camo and pink bandanas were chanting “Ed Sheeran, you’re a clown” and blocking the gates with banners. Some of them were screaming at fans. Not exactly winning hearts and