Finneas has pulled out of six South American tour dates with Ed Sheeran, citing the removal of Macklemore from the same tour after the rapper made a pair of “Free Palestine” speeches at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
It is a significant show of solidarity from someone who has been vocal about the conflict before, and it leaves Sheeran without any of his originally announced opening acts.
“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote on Instagram. I have decided to withdraw my upcoming tour dates with Ed Sheeran. I stand with Palestine and its people.” He had been scheduled to open shows in Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil across late November and early December.
This is not the first time Finneas has put his name to the cause. He and his sister Billie Eilish both wore ceasefire pins on the red carpet at the 2024 Oscars, a moment that drew plenty of attention at the time. His decision to walk away from a high-profile touring slot now makes clear that was not just a one-off gesture.
Macklemore’s removal from the tour came after his speeches at the New Jersey dates drew attention and, apparently, consequences.
The rapper had used his platform at a major arena show to speak directly about the situation in Gaza, and Sheeran’s camp responded by cutting him from the remaining dates.
Finneas is not the only one who has responded by stepping back. Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe has also withdrawn from the tour, as has Danish group Lukas Graham, both of whom had been set to open shows on the run.
Irish traditional band Beoga, who had been serving as Sheeran’s backing band, have also parted ways with the trek.
That means Sheeran has now lost every single one of his opening acts in a matter of days. The exits are stacking up quickly, and each one brings fresh attention back to why Macklemore was removed in the first place.
The situation puts Sheeran in a complicated spot publicly. He has not made a detailed public statement explaining the decision to cut Macklemore, which has left a vacuum that others are filling with their own very public responses. The longer that silence continues, the more the story belongs to the artists who are leaving.
Macklemore’s speeches at MetLife were not subtle or ambiguous. He addressed the crowd directly about Palestinian suffering, and the reaction from fans in the arena was reportedly warm.
The contrast between that reception and the tour’s response to it is something a number of artists and observers have been pointing out online since the news broke.
Finneas’s withdrawal in particular carries weight given his profile. He is one of the most prominent producers and artists in pop music right now, and walking away from a stadium tour slot is not a small thing commercially.
The fact that he did it anyway, and framed it explicitly around the principle of artists not being silenced, adds another layer to what is already a messy and fast-moving story.
With the South American leg of the tour approaching and no opening acts currently confirmed, it is unclear how Sheeran’s team plans to handle the remaining dates.
