Macklemore Announces Free Palestine Tour After Ed Sheeran Tour Removal Macklemore announces Free Palestine tour dates in Dublin, Paris and London after being dropped from Ed Sheeran's Loop tour, sparking backlash. Macklemore has announced a string of Free Palestine concerts after being removed as a support act from Ed Sheeran's Loop tour. The rapper was dropped over pro-Palestine comments he made at Sheeran's New Jersey shows earlier this month. The Free Palestine tour will begin on 26 October, with shows in Dublin, Paris and London. Proceeds will benefit organisations supporting the Palestinian people and movement. Background of the Tour ControversyMacklemore was originally set to support Ed Sheeran on the Loop tour. However, after he made pro-Palestine remarks during Sheeran's New Jersey concerts earlier this month, he was dropped from upcoming dates.In response to his removal, all of Sheeran's opening acts – Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe, as well as his backing band Beoga – announced they would be leaving the tour in solidarity with Macklemore and Palestine.Ed Sheeran has since faced accusations of bowing to the mob after he apologised to fans for his handling of the row. The situation escalated as the tour lost multiple supporting acts.Macklemore's Response and New TourIn a post on Instagram, Macklemore said his schedule had freed up a bit in the wake of being axed from the Loop tour. He then announced the Free Palestine tour, with proceeds benefiting organisations supporting the Palestinian people and movement.He wrote that the last couple of weeks have shown that something has shifted over the last three years. There has been a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what people expect from artists right now.Macklemore added that it is 2026 and being apolitical during a genocide does not work anymore. People are asking artists to show up, educate themselves and be in community, and to use the stage for more than entertainment.He stated that what happened to him is bigger than one artist or one stage. When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention.He explained that he has spent the last week reaching out to artists who have shown up and used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences. These are artists who understand that platforms mean very little if they are only willing to use them when it is safe.Because of how quickly all of this has come together, a lot of the conversations, schedules and details are still being worked out. But this is a moment of momentum, and there is work to be done.The Free Palestine tour will begin on 26 October with shows in Dublin, Paris and London. Artist announcements are coming soon, as well as US dates. Sign up for updates and first access to tickets at macklemore.com. Presale starts next Monday at 10am local, on sale next Wednesday at 10am local. All proceeds will benefit organisations supporting the Palestinian people and movement.Ed Sheeran's Apology and BacklashOver the weekend, Ed Sheeran addressed the backlash around Macklemore being axed from the concert. He told 50,000 fans at his Philadelphia concert that the last week of his life has been one of the worst weeks of his life.He added that he was heartened by the fans who had come out to support him, telling them that today has been one of the weirdest days of his life, but tonight has been honestly the best show of his life. He said he really did not know whether this tour would be carrying on, whether he would even be getting on stage again, or whether he even wanted to be an artist at all. In these situations, you really find out who your friends are, and it has been a weird week.The singer has been accused of bowing to the mob after he apologised to fans at the start of the gig by reading a statement from an autocue. He backtracked on his previous vow not to bring politics to his show, as he called the situation in Gaza catastrophic and unjustifiable and Hamas's October 7 attacks horrific.Reposting Sheeran's speech on X, Piers Morgan commented that he agreed with Ed Sheeran's overview of the Israel/Hamas war, calling October 7 terrible and Israel's response disproportionate, but he wished Sheeran had not bowed to the mob and felt forced to say it publicly, especially reading it off an autocue like a bullied puppet. Morgan added that Sheeran needs better advisors.Many agreed with Morgan, with one supporter posting that Sheeran's PR people need to be fired, and there is no reason for him to have to speak to that outside of a very small mob of loudmouths. Another commenter said that the dude simply wants to play and perform and has done so for years, calling him a bigger idiot than he was last week and a disgrace to bow to the mob.Another X poster said that Sheeran's use of a teleprompter is not proof he does not care. Ed is a singer, not a politician, not a news anchor, the comment continued, noting that he does not spend his life rehearsing talking points on the most loaded conflict on the planet.The Free Palestine tour marks Macklemore's continued activism, following the fallout from his removal from the Loop tour. The tour dates and artist lineup are expected to be announced soon.