Jack Antonoff has publicly criticized Ed Sheeran for continuing his Loop Tour after Macklemore’s removal.
Antonoff, 42, said that Sheeran, 33, should have canceled the entire run rather than play without his support acts. The Bleachers frontman argued that the British pop star had let a powerful figure dictate the terms of his own tour.
“[Ed Sheeran] missed a massive, beautiful opportunity there,” Antonoff said in the interview.
“Just cancel the whole tour, then play for free outside each venue, raise a bunch of money, rather than let a billionaire tell you what to do.”
Antonoff continued that Sheeran should have “stood the f–k up,” adding that we “live in a world where billionaires are constantly telling us what to do.” The producer and songwriter also noted that he had been saying “free Palestine” onstage at his own shows long before the recent controversy erupted between the two pop stars.
The dispute traces back to September 4, when Macklemore, 41, delivered pro-Palestinian speeches during a Loop Tour performance. The rapper’s remarks prompted Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots, to ban Macklemore from appearing with Sheeran at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. Kraft, 83, later confirmed his decision in a statement shared, citing what he called Macklemore’s “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.”
“Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line,” Kraft wrote.
Sheeran issued his own statement insisting he was “not complicit” in Macklemore’s removal. All three of his support acts — Macklemore, Irish rap trio Kneecap, and folk band Beoga — subsequently dropped out of the tour. Sheeran pressed on with the dates regardless, performing solo.
Kraft later disclosed that Sheeran had asked him to match a $2 million donation for “aid in the region.” The request came after Macklemore challenged Kraft to match the $1 million the rapper planned to donate to Palestinian organizations.
Macklemore responded to his ouster by launching a Free Palestine tour, which opened in Dublin on October 26. Kneecap and Beoga joined him onstage for the kickoff show. All proceeds from the run are being donated to organizations supporting Palestinians.
During the Dublin performance, Macklemore addressed the crowd directly about the fallout from his two-word statement.
“Six weeks ago, it was two words. Two words is all that it took. Two words that are rooted in love and liberation,” he told the audience.
“Not against anybody, not divisive. Not a call for hatred. But a call to recognize our shared humanity.”
He added: “The same thing that I want for all of us, freedom, dignity, the right to exist without fear. Being able to raise our children in the homes that we grew up in, not having to prove our humanity to the rest of the world.”
Antonoff’s broadside marks the most prominent industry voice to fault Sheeran’s handling of the episode, framing it as a failure of artistic solidarity rather than a mere scheduling dispute.
Macklemore’s Free Palestine tour continues with upcoming dates across Europe.