What to know about Ed Sheeran's tour after Macklemore was cut and artists dropped out

Ed Sheeran's tour of North and South America has been roiled by the decision this week to drop Macklemore as an opener because of the rapper's onstage pro-Palestinian comments. Since then, all of Sheeran's other supporting acts have dropped out, including a group that performs with Sheeran during part of the show.

Sheeran, who is scheduled to perform in Philadelphia on Saturday, said the decision to cut Macklemore from the Loop Tour was the promoter's, not his own. The “Thrift Shop” rapper exclaimed “Free Palestine” during the Sept. 5 date in New Jersey.

“To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, it in no way is criticism of you,” he said during the New Jersey concert. “This message is for peace, love, for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality.”

Macklemore has said his removal was the result of an effort led by Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots. His Kraft Group also owns Gillette Stadium, where the NFL team plays and where Sheeran is scheduled to perform later this month. Kraft's involvement was implicitly cited in some of the statements from the supporting acts who left Sheeran's tour Tuesday, decrying the influence of money.

Here's where things stand with Sheeran's tour.

The Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe were scheduled to replace Macklemore as the opening acts on Sheeran's remaining U.S. tour dates. Finneas, the American singer and close collaborator with sister Billie Eilish, was down to open for Sheeran on four of his South American dates. Beoga, an Irish folk band, had been performing with Sheeran for part of his set since his tour began in January in New Zealand.

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote.

The announcements from each supporting act came roughly within an hour of each other Tuesday. Earlier that day, Sheeran posted his own statement blaming the promoter for Macklemore's removal and maintaining that he refused to be drawn into a public discussion about the war in Gaza.

Rowe and Beoga cited their country’s history to explain their decision. “We are Irish people who understand colonialism. As founding members of the Irish Artists for Palestine movement, we are committed activists for justice and will continue to be,” Beoga posted.

Rowe called Sheeran a friend. “But as Irish people we know all too well about genocide, forced famine and violent occupation,” he wrote, adding that he couldn’t “stand by and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence the rightful voices of those who speak up.”

Lukas Graham also appeared to take a veiled shot at Kraft, writing: "Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation. Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge."

Kraft's representatives did not respond to an emailed request for comment Tuesday, but in a statement Monday, he wrote that the decision to cancel Macklemore was a result of the rapper's recent comments “and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.”

“This decision is not about diminishing the suffering of innocent Palestinians or denying anyone the right to advocate on their behalf. Their pain and loss are real,” Kraft said.

After Macklemore issued a lengthy statement Monday about being removed from the tour, Sheeran took to Instagram to lay out his side.

“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine,” he wrote Tuesday. “I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living.”

Neither Sheeran nor Macklemore has posted since those supporting acts left the tour, and Sheeran's representative didn't respond to an emailed request for comment. The promoter, Messina Touring Group, also hasn't responded to requests for comment.

In his statement Tuesday, Sheeran said he was “not complicit” and that he had his own views on the war in Gaza.

“There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics — my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my show do not expect a political forum,” he wrote.

While Sheeran has not been as politically vocal as many fellow artists, he has expressed support for some causes in the past. He performed at the Concert for Ukraine in 2022, which raised money for Ukrainians affected by the Russian invasion, and collaborated with a Ukrainian band on a charity single. He has also campaigned against racism in the U.K. and criticized his country's government for cutting arts funding.

FILE - Lukas Forchhammer of the band Lukas Graham appears at th World Mental Health Day Gala in New York on Oct. 9, 2025. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Aaron Rowe performs during the Glastonbury Festival in Worthy Farm, Somerset, England, on June 26, 2025. (Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Finneas arrives at the second season premiere of "Beef" in Los Angeles on April 8, 2026. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Macklemore performs at Austin City Limits Live during the South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas on March 17, 2023. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran performs during "Ed Sheeran's Play: Live from New York" presented by TikTok at Domino Square in the Brooklyn borough of New York, Sept. 13, 2025. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)

President Donald Trump is traveling to North Carolina for a campaign rally Wednesday evening with Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley as the former national party chairman tries to shore up his campaign against Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper.

The trip marks Trump’s first campaign rally since his unusual midterm convention in Dallas. The president, despite voter frustrations over the Iran war and his economic leadership, has promised dozens more trips ahead of Election Day. Trump's involvement creates a balancing act for Republicans like Whatley, who depend on the president’s core supporters to turn out while also trying to appeal to moderates and disaffected conservatives who are unhappy with the direction of the country.

Whatley was the president’s pick for the Senate race and, before that, Trump’s pick to lead the Republican National Committee before that. Republicans viewed him as a strong recruit to hold the seat being left open by Sen. Thom Tillis, who decided to retire after clashing with the president last year. But Whatley, who is making his first bid for public office, has trailed Cooper in fundraising in recent months and polling over the summer showed Cooper with at least a slight lead.

Trump has acknowledged the challenging landscape but believes his presence will be a clear boost.

“In North Carolina, you have a little more difficult case, because people don’t quite get it, but they’re going to find out,” Trump said during his keynote speech in Dallas.

Democrats have not won a Senate contest in the state since 2008, and Trump has carried North Carolina three times since. The seat is critical to Democrats' effort to flip control of the Senate. Cooper was perhaps Democrats’ best recruit this cycle, having never lost a statewide race in North Carolina through four terms as attorney general and two terms as governor.

Republican pollster Paul Shumaker, who worked on Tillis’s and North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd’s campaigns, said Trump will energize Republicans who may not be as excited about the campaign as Democrats are. But he noted that registered Democrats and Republicans in North Carolina are split about evenly, while independent voters outnumber both. That cohort of more than 3.5 million voters, he said, is more concerned about the economy, an issue where Trump is weaker than he was in 2024, than with crime or immigration, issues where North Carolina Republicans might still have an advantage over Democrats.

“They see the White House more focused on everything but the economy,” Shumaker said. “So that narrative has to change to give them a path here in North Carolina.”

Whatley, for his part, has not distanced himself from Trump. During a brief speech in Dallas, he praised Trump’s agenda, especially the tax cuts included in his “big beautiful bill” last year. But instead of lavishing praise on the president himself, he spent most of his time unloading on Cooper, calling him soft on crime and bad for North Carolinians’ wallets.

“Under Roy Cooper’s reign, North Carolina became the most expensive state in the nation for health care costs,” he said.

It was part of his effort to counter the former governor’s emphasis on the economy under Trump, especially gas and grocery prices. But Whatley's claim also hinges on a Forbes study whose methodology has been questioned by North Carolina health insurance analysts and the Republican state auditor, among others.

Cooper’s campaign pushed back against Whatley’s criticisms and noted that the Republican has faced scrutiny for recently having a convicted sex offender offer the opening prayer at one of his campaign events.

Whatley, meanwhile, is leaning heavily on Trump and national Republican donors to reach voters on TV and online. According to data from AdImpact, which tracks campaign advertising, total Republican spending on the contest has topped $50 million, while Democrats have spent almost $35.2 million, with Trump's MAGA Inc. and other conservative PACs accounting for the overall Republican advantage.

Cooper has no public events Wednesday, but the state Democratic Party sought to keep the spotlight on Trump, Whatley and inflation. In a morning news conference, speakers noted the Republican nominee's oil and gas investments as the energy sector amasses profits while the Iran war drives up fuel costs. Whatley's personal financial disclosures to the Senate show investments in ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell and other energy firms. A former energy lobbyist, Whatley backs Trump's actions in Iran.

“Why would Whatley back a war that is driving up prices for North Carolina families at a time when it’s already too hard for us to get by?” state Sen. Woodson Bradley, D-Charlotte, asked. “He’s already shown us everything we need to know.”

Former Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who is running for U.S. Senate, speaks to supporters at St. James African Methodist Episcopal Church in Goldsboro, N.C., on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before boarding Air Force One at Shannon Airport, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Shannon, Ireland. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

Michael Whatley, North Carolina senatorial candidate, greets delegates as he takes the stage at the Republican convention in Dallas, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)