Ed Sheeran

Introduction

Ed Sheeran — the 35-year-old English singer-songwriter behind “Shape of You” and one of the best-selling artists in the world — is facing an unusual form of professional backlash: an Irish radio station has removed his entire catalog from its playlist for the foreseeable future, pro-Palestine groups have announced a protest outside his Philadelphia stadium show, and four of his tour’s supporting acts have quit the bill. The trigger was not anything Sheeran said or did on stage, but a decision he insists was not his: the removal of rapper Macklemore from Sheeran’s US Loop Tour after Macklemore’s pro-Palestine stage comments at MetLife Stadium. Sheeran says the call was made by the tour’s promoter and the venues and that he spent a week trying to reverse it; his critics, including some of his own opening acts, have treated his neutrality as complicity.

Background Information

Sheeran rose from busking in Ipswich to global stadium-filling fame on the strength of albums like “×” and “÷,” becoming one of streaming’s most-played artists and a fixture of pop radio on both sides of the Atlantic. His 2026 Loop Tour of US stadiums has carried him through the season with a rotating roster of opening acts, among them the Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe and the Irish folk band Beoga. One of the tour’s openers was Macklemore, the Seattle rapper, whose sets on the tour’s opening weekend at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on September 4 and 5, repeatedly called for a “Free Palestine” and included his anti-Israel song “Hind’s Hall.” Classic Hits Radio, the Dublin station now at the center of the story, is run by Bay Broadcasting, an independent Irish-owned broadcaster whose playlist had long featured Sheeran’s music.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Allegations. The claims in this section are allegations and counter-claims from Macklemore’s public statements and from protest groups organizing against the tour, as reported by the NY Post. They were never admitted by Ed Sheeran, never criminally charged, and never adjudicated in court. Sheeran denies making the decision to remove Macklemore and says the venues and promoter made it, after warning they would pull his shows, and that he tried for a week to negotiate a compromise.

Macklemore was dropped as an opening act on Sheeran’s Loop Tour after his MetLife performances. Macklemore alleged that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft pressured Sheeran into dropping him — telling the singer he would not be allowed to perform at Gillette Stadium and encouraging other stadium owners to issue a similar ultimatum; that account of pressure has not been tested in any court. Following the removal, four other supporting acts quit the tour in protest: the Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga, along with Lukas Graham and Finneas.

Sheeran addressed the controversy on Instagram, writing, “I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.” He said venues on the upcoming dates “communicated that they would pull the shows if he was still supporting,” based on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message rather than everything said; that he spoke with venues all week, including Kraft, and engaged with promoters and activists on both sides; and that the venue and promoter decision “was final,” noting Macklemore’s tour contract was with the promoter, not with him.

Public Reaction and Consequences

On Thursday, September 17, effective that day, Classic Hits Radio announced it was removing Sheeran’s music from its playlist “for the foreseeable future” after considering feedback from its audience and the artists’ withdrawals. Dave Kelly, the station group’s program director, said the move “has been carefully considered,” was “not intended as a personal judgment on Ed Sheeran,” and that the station stood “alongside Irish artists who have made what is undoubtedly a significant professional decision based on their own convictions.” “In light of the strength of feeling expressed by our listeners,” Kelly said, removing the music was “the appropriate decision for Classic Hits Radio at this time.” The station said it acknowledged Sheeran’s own explanation, recognized “differing and strongly held views,” and would keep the move under review. Separately, the pro-Palestine groups Philly Palestine Coalition and Shut Down D&Z announced a protest for September 19 outside Sheeran’s concert at Lincoln Financial Field, publicizing it with a flyer reading “Gaza is our compass” and “Billionaires, Zionists & Warmongers out of Philly.”

Current Status

As of the September 17–18, 2026 coverage, Sheeran’s music remains off the Classic Hits playlist, with the station describing the removal as “foreseeable future” and under ongoing review rather than permanent. The Loop Tour itself continues, with the September 19 Philadelphia show at Lincoln Financial Field set to go ahead under a planned protest. Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Sheeran but did not immediately hear back. Sheeran, in his Instagram statement, framed his silence as deliberate: “There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics – my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds,” adding that his shows are not “a political forum.”

Impact on Their Career/Life

The episode has made Sheeran a rare case of a superstar absorbing cancellation-style consequences without a personal scandal: a nationwide radio ban in a market that has long embraced him, a third of his tour’s undercard gone, and protests greeting the tour’s next stop. His defense — that he chose “to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open” rather than “shouting the loudest” — has drawn both criticism and acknowledgment, with even the station that banned him crediting his explanation while dropping his records anyway. The commercial damage so far is limited but visible, and whether other broadcasters follow Classic Hits’ lead — and whether the remaining tour dates proceed without further walkouts — will determine if this stays a one-market protest or becomes a broader professional cost.