In a lengthy new statement posted to Instagram, Ed Sheeran said the decision to drop Macklemore from his tour was not his but that of the promoter Messina Touring Group, combined with pressure from venues.
It is fair to criticize his decision to go with their decision. It is not fair to say he decided to drop Macklemore. There is a difference there and I think we should acknowledge that.
Ed’s choices here are not easy to make. If he sides completely with Macklemore and cancel the rest of the tour, then lots of people would suddenly be out of a job. If it were me that is the last thing I would want to do. I will say that he definitely could have handled this situation in a much better way by expressing his personal opinions more clearly and speaking out against Macklemore being dropped. But understand Ed is a politically loud person, so it isn’t in his nature to act that way. There are plenty of things about his reaction criticize here, but saying he is responsible for Macklemore being dropped is insincere. He likely could have and should have done more to fight this, but he isn’t the cause.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/ed-sheeran-macklemore-tour-statement-1235626937/
From the article:
It is fair to criticize his decision to go with their decision. It is not fair to say he decided to drop Macklemore. There is a difference there and I think we should acknowledge that.
Ed’s choices here are not easy to make. If he sides completely with Macklemore and cancel the rest of the tour, then lots of people would suddenly be out of a job. If it were me that is the last thing I would want to do. I will say that he definitely could have handled this situation in a much better way by expressing his personal opinions more clearly and speaking out against Macklemore being dropped. But understand Ed is a politically loud person, so it isn’t in his nature to act that way. There are plenty of things about his reaction criticize here, but saying he is responsible for Macklemore being dropped is insincere. He likely could have and should have done more to fight this, but he isn’t the cause.