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Music|Pro-Palestinian Remarks Roil Sheeran Tour, Leading Finneas to Drop Out
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/15/arts/music/ed-sheeran-tour-macklemore-palestine-gaza-finneas.html
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Three other acts are also leaving the tour, citing the right to free speech after the rapper Macklemore was removed over comments he had made onstage.
Sept. 15, 2026
Finneas and an array of other musicians associated with Ed Sheeran’s stadium tour have withdrawn from the engagement, a day after the rapper Macklemore was removed over his statements opposing the war in Gaza.
Finneas, along with the singer-songwriters Aaron Rowe and Lukas Graham and the traditional Irish group Beoga, all announced their withdrawals on social media on Tuesday. Each cited the need for free speech and voiced support for Palestinians.
“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” wrote Finneas, the Grammy- and Oscar-winning musician and producer who is the brother and collaborator of Billie Eilish. He added, “I stand with Palestine and its people.”
The departures add to mounting pressure on Sheeran, a streaming giant and a top touring draw. Since Macklemore’s removal was announced, Sheeran has been widely criticized for allowing it — a decision that Sheeran said was made by the tour’s promoter and the owners of the stadiums where the concerts have been booked.
Rowe and Graham have been recent opening acts on Sheeran’s tour, and Finneas, whose full name is Finneas O’Connell, was set to join a number of dates in South America in November and December. Beoga has frequently played with Sheeran, including on his current tour.
The controversy began on Sept. 4 and 5, when Macklemore — the Seattle rapper of 2010s hits like “Thrift Shop” and “Same Love” — performed at Sheeran’s concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford N.J.
