Ed Sheeran performs ‘Thinking Out Loud’ during Arizona concert
Ed Sheeran has kicked off the U.S. leg of his “LOOP” tour, performing his hit single “Thinking Out Loud” during opening night in Arizona.
Macklemore is again drawing criticism over his pro-Palestinian activism amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The Seattle-born rapper, 43, joined as an opening act on the North American leg of Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour on Sept. 4 and admitted he was “scared” to perform his song “Hind’s Hall” at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
“The truth is, a big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I can stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine,” Macklemore said in the introduction of the song, according to clips from his set posted on social media.
He added: “I want those words to be loud and clear so the people all the way in Gaza, to the occupied West Bank, know that we have not forgotten about them.”
The 2024 track refers to the name protesters gave Columbia University’s Hamilton Hall, where they barricaded themselves and called on the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel. Their name for the building honored Hind Rajab, a Palestinian girl who appeared to have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in January 2024, according to The Washington Post.
Macklemore added that, as the father of 11-year-old daughter Sloane, he believes every person deserves”to know safety and peace before they know the sound of violence, to know the sounds of laughter on the playground before planes and bombs.”
He also called out people living through conflict and humanitarian issues in Lebanon, Cuba, Congo, Sudan and Iran. The message ended with Macklemore mentioning “all the people living in America that have to live in fear because of this terrorist organization, ICE,” referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“If I let that fear that I felt on the plane yesterday stop me from speaking my heart in order to keep my own comfort and the audience’s comfort, that is the day that I no longer intend to be here on stage,” he told the stadium crowd.
Israeli American Council accuses Macklemore of ‘one-sided political agenda’
The day after the concert, the Israeli American Council shared an online petition on Sept. 5 that was addressed to Sheeran, 35.
The page called on the singer as well as “tour leadership” to remove Macklemore from future tour dates, “clarify whether Macklemore’s political speech, visual content, and performance of Hind’s Hall were approved in advance” and “establish clear boundaries for the use of the tour stage to promote political messaging.”
The nonprofit organization, which says it aims to strengthen “the Israeli and Jewish identity of our next generation, the American Jewish community, and the bond “between people in the U.S. and Israel, said it took issue with Macklemore using “a global concert platform to advance a one-sided political agenda.”
“This becomes even more troubling when the message relies on selective imagery, biased messaging, and disputed claims presented to a massive audience as fact, without context or complexity,” the petition says.
USA TODAY reached out to representatives for Macklemore and Sheeran for comment.
Sheeran’s tour will resume Sept. 19 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, with Macklemore scheduled to return as an opening act.
In 2024, the “Thrift Shop” rapper drew criticism after making an anti-America remark while performing at Seattle’s Palestine Will Live Forever festival. He later issued an apology, saying his comments were directed “towards our government who refuse to listen to us.”
Despite a ceasefire agreement reached nearly two years after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, Israeli airstrikes continued in parts of Gaza and Lebanon.
In September 2025, the United Nations Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel committed genocide in the Gaza Strip. Israel rejected the finding, saying the report relied on “Hamas’ falsehoods.”