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U2 members have spoken out about Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s tour after the rapper said “Free Palestine” at a concert. The Edge defended Macklemore’s right to speak while saying Sheeran should not be vilified; Larry Mullen Jr. criticized billionaire venue owners and promoters who seek to censor artists.
U2 members The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr. have criticized venue owners’ influence over artists’ speech while responding to Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s tour after the rapper said “Free Palestine” during a concert. Speaking to the BBC, The Edge supported Macklemore’s right to make the statement and said Sheeran should not be vilified, while Mullen said no billionaire, promoter or venue owner has the right to censor an artist.
The Edge told the BBC that U2 “totally support Macklemore’s right as an artist to say what he wanted to say.” He also defended Sheeran, saying the singer-songwriter “was in a difficult situation.” The Edge praised other opening acts and members of Sheeran’s backing band who left the tour in solidarity with Macklemore, describing their decision as support for an artist’s right to free speech.
According to the report, Macklemore was removed as a support act in September after stadium operators objected to his onstage comments in support of Palestine. The operators, led by New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, threatened to prevent him from performing if he remained on the bill. Sheeran said the decision to remove Macklemore was made by the promoter, not by him.
Mullen framed the dispute as a question of who gets to set limits on artists’ public statements. He said artists have a right to choose whether to be politically active, with the qualification that speech should not incite violence. He added that U2 would resist efforts to censor the band. The Edge also said U2 agrees with the fundamentals of the pro-Palestine movement and described the situation in Gaza as unconscionable, while stressing the equal value of children’s lives regardless of background.
Venue Power and Artists’ Speech
The dispute puts a practical limit on artists’ speech in focus: stadium operators can influence who appears on a tour, even when the artist at the center of the controversy is not the person making the booking decision. In this case, the source report says operators objected to Macklemore’s remarks and threatened to block his performances; Sheeran said the promoter made the removal decision.
U2’s comments matter because the band is taking a public position while preparing to perform in stadiums itself. Mullen’s remarks challenge wealthy venue owners and promoters’ authority over performers, while The Edge’s comments distinguish support for Macklemore’s speech rights from blame directed at Sheeran. Their response presents the conflict not simply as a disagreement over political expression, but as a dispute over the influence of commercial gatekeepers.
The comments also show that support for speech rights can include people who disagree with a speaker’s views. The Edge said U2 may disagree with some members of the pro-Palestine movement but supports what he described as its fundamentals. The band’s stated position is that artists should be able to speak their minds, subject to Mullen’s stated limit against inciting violence.
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How Macklemore Left the Tour
The source report says Macklemore was removed from Sheeran’s tour in September, following his declaration of “Free Palestine” at a concert. Stadium operators reportedly objected and threatened to bar him from performing if he stayed on the bill. The report identifies Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, as leading the operators’ opposition.
Sheeran said the promoter, rather than he himself, decided to remove Macklemore. The Edge’s comments address both sides of that account: he backed Macklemore’s right to speak and also said Sheeran should not be vilified. The report says other opening acts and members of Sheeran’s backing band left in solidarity with Macklemore.
U2 and Sheeran have worked together: Sheeran sang on “Yours Eternally,” a track on U2’s February Days of Ash EP. The report says Sheeran had expressed hesitation to Bono about appearing on a song that might be viewed as political before agreeing to take part. U2’s forthcoming plans, as given in the report, include a 16th studio album, Carnaval De Luz, scheduled for November 16, followed by a world tour beginning the following February.
““We totally support Macklemore’s right as an artist to say what he wanted to say.””
— The Edge, speaking to the BBC
Questions About the Booking Decision
The source report does not identify the promoter who made the removal decision, nor does it provide a detailed account of the discussions among the promoter, stadium operators, Sheeran and Macklemore. It is also not clear which operators objected beyond the report’s description of several stadium owners and its identification of Kraft as leading them.
The available account does not include direct responses from Kraft, the stadium operators or the promoter to U2’s criticism. The precise terms of any threat to block Macklemore from performing, and whether the operators’ objections applied to every tour date, are not specified. The report attributes the explanation of the decision to Sheeran; it does not independently establish how responsibility was divided among the parties.
U2’s comments express the band members’ views. The report does not say whether their remarks have led to any change in tour bookings, venue policies or the handling of Macklemore’s removal.
U2’s Album and Stadium Tour
The immediate next steps described in the report are U2’s planned album release and world tour. Carnaval De Luz is scheduled for November 16, and the band is set to begin touring the following February, with a performance at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles among the plans cited in the report.
The report does not say whether U2 intends to take further action over Macklemore’s removal or whether the dispute will affect its own arrangements with stadium operators. Any later statements from the promoter, venue owners, Sheeran or Macklemore could add detail about how the decision was made and what it means for future tour bookings.
Key Questions
Why was Macklemore removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour?
According to the source report, several stadium operators objected after Macklemore said “Free Palestine” during a concert and threatened to block him from performing if he remained on the bill. Sheeran said the promoter made the decision to remove him.
What did U2 say about Macklemore?
The Edge told the BBC that U2 supported Macklemore’s right as an artist to speak. He also praised other performers who left the tour in solidarity with him.
Did U2 blame Ed Sheeran for Macklemore’s removal?
No. The Edge said Sheeran should not be vilified and described him as being in a difficult situation. Sheeran said the promoter, not he, made the removal decision.
What did Larry Mullen Jr. say about venue owners?
Mullen said artists have a right to choose whether to be politically active and that no billionaire, promoter or owner has the right to censor them. He qualified that position by saying speech should not incite violence.
What remains unknown about the decision?
The report does not name the promoter, provide the parties’ full account of their discussions or include responses from the venue operators. It also does not specify the exact scope of the threatened performance ban.
Source: consequence.net
