All Support Acts Quit Ed Sheeran's US Tour After Macklemore Dropped Over 'Free Palestine'

All remaining support acts on Ed Sheeran's US tour, including Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe, quit after rapper Macklemore was dropped for saying "free Palestine" and showing images of Gaza at two New Jersey concerts. Jewish groups criticised his remarks and venues pressed the promoter to remove him, while Sheeran said the decision was the promoter's and that he keeps politics off his stage. The dispute shows the Middle East war now dividing popular culture, where the same words are called advocacy by one side and hate speech by the other.