What to know about Ed Sheeran's tour after Macklemore was cut and other 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 plays with Sheeran during part of the show.

Sheeran, who is scheduled to perform Saturday in Philadelphia, 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.

On Wednesday, Macklemore announced he would donate $1 million from his net earnings from the tour to six organizations helping Palestinians, including the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA. He challenged Kraft to match the donation.

“Whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this: Palestinian lives are worth protecting,” Macklemore wrote.

Kraft said in an Instagram post shortly afterward that Sheeran contacted him before Macklemore put out his statement to ask for a $2 million match to aid “in the region.”

“Ed now plans to reach out to other venue owners and our goal is to continue to work together to build bridges,” Kraft wrote.

A spokesperson confirmed that the billionaire will be donating the matching funds. His post didn’t specify the benefactors of the donation and the spokesperson did not identify the recipients.

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 said in a statement Monday 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.”

Sheeran hasn't posted since those supporting acts left the tour, and his representative didn't respond to an emailed request for comment. The promoter, Messina Touring Group, also hasn't responded to requests for comment.

Macklemore on Wednesday didn't address the fallout, writing instead that he wanted to “bring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people who are still being killed, still living under military occupation, and still fighting for their freedom.”

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)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge said Saturday she intends to appoint an ex-top federal prosecutor in the nation's capital during President Donald Trump's first term to investigate whether she was purposefully misled by lawyers and administration officials in a lawsuit challenging one of his prized Washington construction projects, the renovation of a historic public golf course along the Potomac River.

Jessie Liu, a former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, would examine whether officials with the Interior Department and the National Park Service and attorneys with the Department of Justice violated ethics or misled U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes during the course of the case that was initiated in February by the DC Preservation League and two golfers.

The Republican administration plans to close the East Potomac Golf Course and park on Nov. 15 with the intention of constructing a “World Class, championship-level golf course that is capable of hosting major events." An injunction issued by Reyes last month temporarily bars the government from removing or damaging any additional trees on the course and the administration must give 10 days’ notice in writing before making any “irreparable modification” to any “forms or features” of the course while the lawsuit is active.

Reyes is giving each side a chance to be heard on her plan to name Liu as special master in the case. They must do so in writing by Friday, when the next court hearing in the dispute is scheduled.

Reyes, who was nominated by Democratic President Joe Biden, wants to know whether federal officials lied about the extent of renovation plans during months of hearings. She also wants to know if they were truthful about various steps they took, including cutting hundreds of trees early last month. She announced during a hearing Oct. 30 that she was starting a formal investigation of the government's conduct. Earlier in the case, she had rejected numerous motions from the plaintiffs to step in, saying she trusted the government attorneys.

As the city's chief federal prosecutor, Liu oversaw some of the matters referred to her office by then-special counsel Robert Mueller during his investigation into possible ties between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia. Trump later nominated her to be associate attorney general, the third-highest ranking Justice Department job.

Liu withdrew from consideration after running into opposition on the Republican-led Senate Judiciary Committee because of her past membership in a lawyers’ group that has supported abortion rights. She eventually resigned from the group because, she said previously, it took left-leaning positions, and she is now part of her own law firm, Liu Shur Kravis LLP.

David Super, a law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, said the initiation of a formal investigation by a judge to look into the conduct of a trial's participants "can be a precursor to holding someone in contempt of court.”

Super said it also is a reflection “of the difficulty she had in determining who initiated the tree-cutting in defiance of the assurances DOJ provided. She doesn’t have the time to keep holding long, complex hearings and so wants a special master to narrow the issues.”

Reyes ordered the Oct. 30 hearing after multiple Truth Social posts by Trump indicated there were plans for the golf course and construction was expected to begin Nov. 15. Trump said the park would be closed for 15 months while work goes on.

The presidential posts, which began Oct. 18, created a tense dynamic in multiple court hearings afterward when administration officials could not confirm the existence of the plans under questioning from Reyes. She eventually asked whom she should trust. The Justice Department filed notice Oct. 28 that the plans were real.

Bedayn reported from Austin, Texas.

People drive a golf cart past removed trees at East Potomac Park Golf Course, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The Washington Monument is seen as workers remove trees at East Potomac Park Golf Course, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

The Washington Monument is seen past stumps of removed trees at East Potomac Park Golf Course, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

A golfer watches as trees are removed at East Potomac Park Golf Course, Monday, Oct. 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

FILE - Jessie Liu, then U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, Dec. 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)