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Ed Sheeran's Loop Tour has become one of the more charged flashpoints in recent music after promoters and venues removed rapper Macklemore from the billing following pro-Palestinian remarks he made on stage at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Taylor Swift, Sheeran's close friend and collaborator for more than a decade, has not spoken publicly about the situation.
Macklemore's opening set at the New Jersey venue included chants of "Free Palestine" and characterizations of Israel's actions as "genocide" and "apartheid." Advocacy groups StopAntisemitism and the Combat Antisemitism Movement called for his removal from the tour.
Singer Pink publicly criticized the performance as well. Sheeran issued a statement clarifying that the removal came from the tour's promoters and venues, not from him personally.
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