Ed Sheeran's US tour is losing its supporting cast, one act at a time. Finneas, Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, Irish folk band Beoga and Danish group Lukas Graham have all pulled out of the remaining dates, days after Macklemore was dropped from the lineup.

The trouble started on September 4, when Macklemore played MetLife Stadium in New Jersey and told the crowd he'd joined the tour partly so he could say two words in front of packed stadiums: Free Palestine. He'd already released "Hind's Hall" in 2024, a protest song about Gaza, and has shown up at pro-Palestinian rallies since the war began after the October 7 attacks.

Days later, he was off the tour. Sheeran says it wasn't his call.

"Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter's decision, it was not mine," he wrote on Instagram, adding that his contract sat with Messina Touring Group, not with him personally, and that upcoming venues had warned they'd cancel shows outright if Macklemore stayed on the bill. He said he respects Macklemore's "strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes" but doesn't use his own platform for politics.

Messina backed that account, telling Rolling Stone that venues on the US dates had informed them they wouldn't host a show with Macklemore on it.

One of those venues was Gillette Stadium. Patriots owner Robert Kraft confirmed to CNN that Macklemore wouldn't be performing there, citing what he called a history of antisemitic rhetoric. In a statement, Kraft said the decision wasn't about downplaying Palestinian suffering but argued that "only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas is not honest."

Macklemore has pushed back hard on the antisemitism framing. According to CNN, he said Sheeran told him the words "Free Palestine" and the Palestinian flag had upset some people Sheeran had spoken to. Macklemore's response: if those two words are more offensive to anyone than the deaths of Palestinian children, "there's a fundamental disconnect" between how they see the world.

The walkouts followed fast. Finneas, Billie Eilish's brother and longtime producer, went first. "Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed," he posted. "I stand with Palestine and its people." Rowe and Lukas Graham had actually been booked to fill some of Macklemore's now-vacant slots. They're out too. Beoga, who'd been performing as part of Sheeran's own set rather than opening for him, followed suit.

That leaves Sheeran's remaining US dates without most of their support lineup and without a clear answer on who, if anyone, replaces them. The tour rolls on. The question of who's willing to still open for it does not look settled yet.