Macklemore has been dropped as the opener on Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour, with promoter Messina Touring Group telling ‘Rolling Stone’ that venues on the remaining US dates “will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup,” which “would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.” The rapper, who has long been outspoken in his advocacy for an end to Israel’s genocide in Gaza, drew controversy with comments about Palestine and images of the devastation in Gaza while opening two Sheeran concerts at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium earlier this month. A pro-Israel group subsequently launched a petition calling for him to be removed from the tour. Today, Macklemore shared a statement. “I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim,” he wrote. (Pink received backlash for sharing a Reel about the concerts from a pro-Israel account.) “We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world. Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families. The victims are the Palestinian people.“ He continued: “Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him. We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues. “Ed was in a fucked up position. He knew it. His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with. I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides.’” #Macklemore #EdSheeran #Pink @Macklemore @Ed Sheeran - @stereogum