Ed Sheeran dropped Macklemore, then called Gaza 'catastrophic'
Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran's U.S. Loop Tour after making pro-Palestinian comments onstage. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a Sheeran tour sponsor, is named in the aftermath. Sheeran then opened his next show by calling the Gaza war 'catastrophic.' Two outlets have the story, and between them they have the facts but not the full shape of it.
Ed Sheeran drops Macklemore collaboration over pro-Palestinian comments
2 sources · hover a dot to see coverage
What happened
Macklemore was dropped as an opening act from Ed Sheeran's U.S. Loop Tour after making pro-Palestinian comments during a performance. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who has ties to the tour, is identified as a figure in the aftermath. Sheeran subsequently opened his next show and described the Gaza war as 'catastrophic,' a statement that drew attention given the timing. Several other support acts reportedly departed in the wake of Macklemore's removal. France 24 and Forbes have both covered the story. Two outlets is a thin base for a story with this many moving parts.
What one side told you that the other didn't
Robert Kraft's role in the removal is named but not explained.
Both Forbes and France 24 mention Kraft in connection with Macklemore's removal, but neither outlet — based on available excerpts — specifies what Kraft did, said, or requested. He is a named figure in a story about why a performer lost a gig, and the mechanism connecting him to that outcome is absent from the coverage. That gap matters: 'tour sponsor pressures act' and 'performer dropped for political speech' are different stories.
See how outlets across the political spectrum framed this differently — and what each side left out.