\n\tU2 have weighed in on Macklemore\u2019s removal from Ed Sheeran\u2019s U.S. tour, backing the rapper\u2019s right to speak out while cautioning against blaming Sheeran.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe totally support Macklemore\u2019s right as an artist to say what he wanted to say,\u201d the Edge said in an interview with BBC News. \u201cI don\u2019t think Ed should be vilified,\u201d he added, acknowledging the difficult position Sheeran had been in. The guitarist also praised the artists who left Sheeran\u2019s tour in solidarity, framing the dispute as a matter of free expression.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tEd Sheeran\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tU2\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
See latest videos, charts and news<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\tDrummer Larry Mullen Jr. went further. \u201cArtists can choose whether they want to be politically active or not. It\u2019s a human right,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we as a band will fight for the right to speak your mind as long as it doesn\u2019t incite violence. And even if we disagree with it or don\u2019t like it, nobody has a right \u2013 no billionaire, no promoter, no owner has the right to censor anybody. They will definitely not be censoring us ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tMacklemore was dropped from the North American leg of Sheeran\u2019s Loop Tour in September after two opening sets at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where he said \u201cFree Palestine,\u201d spoke about Gaza and the West Bank, and performed his protest song \u201cHind\u2019s Hall.\u201d Promoter Messina Touring Group said venues on the remaining dates would not allow the shows to go ahead with him on the bill. <\/p>\n
\n\tNew England Patriots owner Robert Kraft confirmed he barred the rapper from Gillette Stadium, citing his comments and what Kraft called \u201ca broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tSheeran said the decision belonged to the promoter. Several acts left the tour in response, including Finneas, Lukas Graham and Irish folk band Beoga, which had been performing with Sheeran each night. Sheeran later opened a show in Philadelphia by apologizing for \u201cmistakes\u201d in his handling of the situation.<\/p>\n
\n\tMacklemore has since played three sold-out Free Palestine benefit concerts in Dublin, Paris and London, with guests including Hozier, Kneecap and Beoga, raising money for organizations supporting Palestinians.<\/p>\n
\n\tU2 release Carnaval De Luz<\/em>, their 16th studio album and first full-length of new material in nine years, on Nov. 13. The album closes with \u201cTorn,\u201d a duet with the late Dolly Parton that the band says was her last recorded vocal performance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [analyse_source url=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/music\/music-news\/u2-macklemore-ed-sheeran-tour-censorship-comments-1236377026\/”]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/www.billboard.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/u2-cr-michael-schwartz-billboard-1800.jpg?w=1024″] U2 have weighed in on Macklemore\u2019s removal from Ed Sheeran\u2019s U.S. tour, backing the rapper\u2019s right to speak out while cautioning against blaming Sheeran. \u201cWe totally support Macklemore\u2019s right as an artist to say what he wanted to say,\u201d the Edge said in an interview with BBC News. \u201cI don\u2019t think Ed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[48,226],"class_list":["post-2244019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-billboard-com","tag-crawlmanager"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2244019","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2244019"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2244019\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2244019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2244019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2244019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}