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Ed Sheeran fans demand concert money back after Macklemore axed over ‘Free Palestine’ speech backlash

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Cite

Todisco, E. (2026, September 16). Ed Sheeran fans demand concert money back after Macklemore axed over ‘Free Palestine’ speech backlash. New York Post. https://pagesix.com/2026/09/16/entertainment/ed-sheeran-fans-demand-concert-money-back-after-macklemores-firing/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-16 · by Eric Todisco

Quick Summary

Fans of Ed Sheeran are demanding refunds from Ticketmaster after the rapper Macklemore was removed from Sheeran's The Loop Tour following a controversial "Free Palestine" speech at a New Jersey show. Several X (formerly Twitter) users have called for full refunds, resale of tickets, or simply not attending shows in protest. Some suggest that empty seats could impact Sheeran’s tour financially more than resold tickets would. Page Six has reached out to both Sheeran and Ticketmaster for comment but did not receive responses by the time of publication.
Written by AI on 2026-09-16, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s US tour after making pro-Palestinian comments at concerts. The rapper was removed following his chants of “Free Palestine” and criticism of Israel's actions as apartheid and genocide during performances in New Jersey. Promoters for the tour, Messina Touring Group, confirmed they received notifications from American venues that Macklemore would not be allowed to perform, potentially resulting in tour cancellation. Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium where Sheeran was scheduled to play, reportedly pressured Sheeran over Macklemore’s involvement. In response, Charlotte Church criticized Ed Sheeran during a concert for prioritizing profits over addressing the Gaza conflict.

Written for “Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 120 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour
Entertainment · 121 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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Hedges 2 of 24 claims Outlet record 60/100
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BBC News
Hedges 3 of 34 claims Outlet record 68/100
CBC News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 45 claims Outlet record 60/100
CBS News
Hedges 1 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
Fox News
Hedges 1 of 25 claims Outlet record 69/100
Global News
Hedges 2 of 44 claims Outlet record 63/100
NBC News
Hedges 5 of 49 claims Outlet record 60/100
Al Jazeera
Hedges 3 of 26 claims Outlet record 60/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 13 claims Outlet record 65/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
28
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 28 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
121
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-16 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15511 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Eric Todisco
81 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “You could hear it in his accented voice and in the stern honesty with which he told you what he thought and felt.
🔮 “First of all, I said, ‘You could actually pay me the cost of this building, but don’t bother, because I don’t want to continue on under contract.’”
🔮 And I just put ‘maybe,'” Lete recalled.
🔮 “And [she and husband Prince Harry] thought it would be helpful in the moment for there to be a reason for their move.”
🔮 “We stand with Hila and will support her every step of the way,” the statement read.
🔮 “I had said to him, ‘I would rather go to a studio apartment with both of my children than sign this.’”
🔮 Tobin, 40, said she has “anxiety” over the possibility that the “Glee” reboot will be all she’s asked about now — especially if she’s not a part of it.
🔮 “I’ve known Alan for years, I have a lot of love for him, and I respect what he brings to the show,” he told us, adding, “I was simply sharing my opinion on how different the partnership will look with Alan stepping in for Val.
🔮 Maybe after the run Jason’s in the hospital, he blew his knee out or something.'
🔮 And you can say how it’s just this kind of freak luck that this is how you ended up getting to know that person in a way that would allow you to reveal yourself and for her to reveal herself.”
Also by Eric Todisco
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 81 articles by Eric Todisco →

Topics

New Jersey Page Six Palestinian Sheeran Ticketmaster

Subjects

Sheeran PERSON · 14× Macklemore PERSON · 11× Kraft ORG · 3× Ticketmaster ORG · 3× @macklemore PERSON · 2× Ed Sheeran PERSON · 2× New Jersey GPE · 2× Palestinian NORP · 2× @edsheeran PERSON · 1× Grok ORG · 1×

Narrative

“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 stated.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-16
🔮 One fan wrote on X this week, “Hey @Ticketmaster so @edsheeran is no longer having @macklemore on his tour we purchased these tickets when @macklemore was on the setlist and we would like to cancel our tickets for a full refund please and you can sell them to someone else!

Claims (28 extracted, 0 hedged)

One fan wrote on X this week, “Hey @Ticketmaster so @edsheeran is no longer having @macklemore on his tour we purchased these tickets when @macklemore was on the setlist and we would like to cancel our tickets for a full refund please and you can sell them to someone else! asserted
you → write → someone
Meanwhile, someone else tweeted at X’s AI Chatbot, Grok, and asked, “Will Ticketmaster give me a refund for my Ed Sheeran tickets since all of his other opening acts dropped out in solidarity with Macklemore […]?” asserted
all → tweet → Macklemore
Another X account tagged Ticketmaster and asked the company, “[…] Are you also offering refunds for people who don’t want to go to a concert where an artist was kicked off a tour for speaking their mind? asserted
artist → tag → mind
“Because it’s only fair. asserted
it → ’ → ?
But my guess is that you’re not gonna do that, huh?” the account added. asserted
account → go → that
A fourth user called on anyone who has tickets to Sheeran’s shows to ask for their money back. asserted
who → call → money
Meanwhile, another account said that instead of asking for a refund, Sheeran’s fans with tickets already “should simply not go” to the tour. asserted
fans → say → tour
“Empty seats will impact his tour a lot more than resold tickets,” the tweet read. asserted
tweet → impact → tickets
“It’ll affect merch sales and venue profits too. asserted
It → affect → sales
A different account claimed there’s been “a surge” in Sheeran’s tickets being put up for resale after Macklemore’s removal. asserted
account → claim → removal
Page Six has reached out to Sheeran’s rep and Ticketmaster for comment. asserted
Six → reach → comment
Macklemore, 43, was dropped from Sheeran’s The Loop Tour after several venues notified the tour’s promoter that they would not allow him to perform after he yelled “Free Palestine” onstage at a recent show in New Jersey. asserted
he → drop → Jersey
In a lengthy post on Monday, Macklemore placed responsibility on Sheeran, writing that “Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour.” asserted
Sheeran → place → tour
The “Thrift Shop” rapper said he considers Sheeran “a brother,” but the pair “had some difficult conversations this past week.” asserted
pair → say → conversations
Macklemore claimed that Sheeran, 35, told him that billionaire Robert Kraft called him and said he would “not be allowed” to perform at Gillette Stadium later this month. asserted
he → claim → Stadium
He further claimed that Sheeran told him that the words “Free Palestine” and the image of the Palestinian flag “were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with.” asserted
he → claim → people
“I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood,” he alleged. asserted
he → tell → stood
“But he couldn’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides.’” asserted
I → get → sides
The “Thinking Out Loud” singer said that because of “how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance” at their NJ shows, Sheeran learned from venues that future shows would be pulled if Macklemore wasn’t dropped. asserted
Macklemore → think → venues
Sheeran insisted he tried to “build a bridge” between the two sides — including by talking to Kraft, 85 — but was ultimately unsuccessful. asserted
he → insist → Kraft
“Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me,” Sheeran wrote. asserted
Sheeran → write → promoter
“I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living.” asserted
who → let → living
Kraft said in a statement to Page Six that Macklemore was banned from performing at Gillette Stadium because the venue doesn’t “provide a platform for hate speech.” asserted
venue → say → speech
“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 stated. asserted
Kraft → base → line
Following Sheeran’s statement on Tuesday, his opening acts Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga all dropped out of the tour in support of Macklemore. asserted
acts → follow → Macklemore
Sheeran has ten shows remaining on the North American leg of his tour, which wraps up in December. asserted
which → have → December
Conversation Your voice matters. asserted
voice → matter → Conversation
Discussions are moderated for civility. asserted
Discussions → moderate → civility
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