Ed Sheeran has reportedly lost close to 100,000 Instagram followers in a short span of time after Macklemore’s removal from his tour.

The Shape Of You singer, 35, has found himself at the centre of an increasingly heated row after US rapper Macklemore claimed Sheeran and his team had dropped him from the remaining dates of The Loop tour.

According to stats from hypeauditor.com Sheeran lost nearly 100,000 Instagram followers since August 17, while his comment sections have been flooded with messages including ‘Free Palestine’ and accusations that he is a ‘sellout.’

In comparison, Macklemore has gained over 170k followers on Instagram in the same span of time.

The backlash comes after Macklemore, whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty, said ‘Free Palestine’ while supporting Sheeran at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium and spoke about the suffering of people in Gaza and the West Bank.

A petition was subsequently launched calling for the 43-year-old rapper to be removed from the remaining shows, while Pink reposted a message criticising his comments.

Macklemore then announced on Monday that he had been dropped from the tour, although he stressed that neither he nor Sheeran should be considered victims in the situation.

‘I’m going to speak from the heart and share the truth. Ed Sheeran and his team have made the decision to remove me from The Loop tour,’ he wrote.

‘But before I get into it, I want to say something that should be obvious. In this moment I think it matters. I am not a victim. Ed Sheeran is not a victim. Pink is not a victim. We have careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world.

‘Whatever consequences any of us face for what we say, we get to go home to our families. The victims are the Palestinian people.’

Macklemore went on to claim that the decision was connected to upcoming shows at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts on September 25 and 26.

According to the rapper, Robert Kraft, whose Kraft Group owns the stadium, contacted Sheeran and said the concerts could not go ahead with Macklemore on the bill.

Macklemore acknowledged that this had left Sheeran in a difficult position, but criticised what he described as the British star’s ‘apolitical stance.’

‘Ed was in a f***** up position. He knew it,’ Macklemore claimed.

He alleged Sheeran told him that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and images of the Palestinian flag had been hurtful to people he had spoken with.

Macklemore said he responded that there was a ‘fundamental disconnect’ if those words were considered more offensive than the deaths of Palestinian children, before claiming Sheeran ‘couldn’t get past his public facing, “I don’t take sides.”‘

Sheeran has not publicly given his version of those conversations.

Kraft, meanwhile, issued a lengthy statement explaining his decision and describing Macklemore’s comments as ‘hate speech.’

https://www.instagram.com/p/DdRdsy0m2HK/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

He wrote: ‘I agree with Macklemore, too many lives have been lost and there has been too much suffering, but only sharing selective information and ignoring the actions of Hamas is not honest and only advances more divisiveness and hate.’

Macklemore has received support from a number of musicians following his announcement, including Irish rap trio Kneecap and Paloma Faith.

Faith called him a ‘rare and important voice’, adding: ‘This is so articulate and so powerful. You are a hero.’

Pink, meanwhile, has clarified why she shared the petition calling for Macklemore’s removal.

The Just Give Me A Reason singer said ‘Palestinians deserve a future that honours their humanity and their aspirations’, but objected to the way Macklemore addressed the issue during the MetLife Stadium concert.

‘Last weekend he stood in front of a stadium full of music-loving families, with violent images from a war on the screens, dedicated a song to the movement of his choice, and then took the mic to tell all of the Jews in the stadium that it wasn’t about them,’ she said.

‘You don’t get to decide that for us. That’s what prompted my repost.’Pink added that she does not speak on behalf of Israel or any government.

Macklemore has been a prominent supporter of Palestine and was among more than 1,100 artists, musicians and cultural workers who called for a boycott of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest over Israel’s participation.

The letter, coordinated by No Music For Genocide, was also signed by Faith, Massive Attack, Paul Weller and Kneecap.

Now, however, some of the anger surrounding Macklemore’s removal appears to have landed firmly on Sheeran, with the reported Instagram exodus and pro-Palestinian comments putting pressure on a singer who has largely avoided taking public political positions.

Metro has contacted representatives for Ed Sheeran and Macklemore for comment.


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