Ed Sheeran should have never booked Macklemore to begin with

Published September 21, 2026 2:00pm ET | Updated September 21, 2026 2:06pm ET



Pop star Ed Sheeran has really been going through it. One of the opening acts on his current U.S. tour uncorked a political rant during a recent show in New Jersey, sparking a firestorm that has raged for days. Macklemore, who was once a star, told the crowd, “I say free Palestine. I say free Lebanon, I say free Cuba, I say free Congo, free Sudan, free all people in America living in fear over this terrorist organization, ICE. None of us will be free until we are all free.”

Notably, the artist did not appear to mean to free Palestinians from the Hamas terrorists, or “free Lebanon” from the Hezbollah terrorists, or “free Cuba” from its repressive communist regime. He simply unleashed a string of left-wing slogans, including the absurd framing of federal agents as members of a “terrorist organization,” because that’s who he is. More on that below.

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