Ed Sheeran announces new tour opening acts after Macklemore controversy

Ed Sheeran has announced a new set of support acts for his ‘Loop’ tour after Macklemore was dropped as a support act following his speech calling for a “free Palestine”. READ MORE: Ed Sheeran – ‘Play’ review: a hasty retreat to the genre-spanning of old After making his comments on-stage, Robert Kraft – who owns the Gillette Stadium and is also owner of the New England Patriots – spoke out about the situation, saying he found Macklemore’s speech “deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community”. Following more disapproval from the likes of Pink and the Israeli American Council, the rapper was removed from the tour. Since then, countless big names including Greta Thunberg, Massive Attack, Roger Waters, Dropkick Murphys, Amelia Dimoldenberg, Billy Bragg and Hayley Williams have shown their support for Macklemore, and Sheeran’s band and other tour support acts have pulled out in solidarity with the rapper. Now, Isaac Slade, former lead singer of The Fray and American Idol contestant Brooks Rosser have stepped in to support Sheeran for a series of dates in the US. The former took to Instagram to confirm he will open Sheeran’s performances in Indianapolis tomorrow (October 10), Cha...