The billionaire’s attempted crackdown on Ed Sheeran’s tour only amplified pro-Palestinian statements. It’s been a joy to watch

A few weeks ago, the worst thing you could say about Ed Sheeran was that his music was a bit bland. A Guardian music writer once compared it to “aural wallpaper”. Which was a little bit rude to wallpaper: there are some very interesting designs out there!

I don’t need to tell you what people are saying about Sheeran now, do I? The pop star has been in the news for days after he apparently crumbled when billionaire Robert Kraft demanded Macklemore be pulled from his tour because of the rapper’s pro-Palestine advocacy.

After Ed Sheeran dropped Macklemore from his tour over the singer’s support for Palestine, people flooded an online contest to open for Sheeran’s Mexico City show with fart videos, bouncing WWE butts, and troll posts from usernames like “EdSheeranSupportsAndFundsGenocide.” The posts appeared live on the contest page, where people can vote for submissions they want to see win, and went up seemingly without any moderation.

Guitar Center started promoting the “Open for Legends” contest on September 14, the same day Macklemore announced he had been removed from the last 10 shows of the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s tour. Macklemore had called for a “free Palestine” on stage at his previous shows and made statements in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, Rolling Stone reported. “YOU COULD OPEN FOR ED SHEERAN,” a poster for the contest says.

The contest by Guitar Center was clearly planned before Sheeran’s tour started falling apart. Still, the timing is unfortunate. For most of Wednesday, the submissions went unmoderated and appeared on the site as they were sent. 

Archived screenshots of the “Open for Legends” site from Wednesday show people posting things like a video of a Charles Manson interview and a meme of Gir from Invader Zim dancing with the caption “Welcome to the Cum Zone.” Screenshots posted on Bluesky and X show more memes with captions like “I”m in love with the gape of you” (a reference to one of Sheeran’s most popular songs) and “I dedicate this song to annoying starving children that block me from my luxury casino being build.” 

Entertainment Weekly documented more of the posts, reporting that one upload featured “a video of a man farting on his roommate’s doorknob titled ‘Me when im not complicit,’” and another from a user named EDSHRANCOMPLICIT was just “a video of a man demonstrating a multitude of ways to give the camera the middle finger” with the caption “FREE PALESTINE RELEASE THE FILES IT’S ALL GOTTA BURN.” Some of the submissions included links to relief efforts for Palestinians, including Gaza Soup Kitchen, UNRWA, the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, and Doctors Without Borders.

As of Thursday morning, troll posts and political protest posts were all removed and the site is only sincere entries, mostly people singing in Sheeran’s soft-pop style about failed situationships or feelings about their siblings. 

Guitar Center did not immediately respond to 404 Media’s request for comment.

Macklemore wrote in a statement on Instagram that Sheeran was pressured by billionaire Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft. “Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium. Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues,” Macklemore wrote.   

All four of Sheeran’s supporting acts and his backing band for this tour have dropped out of the tour this week in support of Macklemore. 

Sheeran publicly addressed the fallout of Macklemore’s removal on Tuesday in an Instagram post. “I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy. There are too many wars across the world causing immeasurable pain, none of which should be tolerated,” Sheeran wrote as part of a series of bullet points. “I am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn't mean I don't have them, and it doesn't mean I don't care. Nor does it mean I don't support causes in my own, personal way,” Sheeran wrote.

The Patriots owner’s decision to ban the rapper from performing at the team’s stadium brings back memories of the blackballing of Colin Kaepernick

Six years ago, in the middle of a “racial reckoning” that never was, a White House that had begun out of control reached its chaotic apex. Federal officials were sweeping citizens off American streets in unmarked vehicles, surrounding the Lincoln Memorial with armed guards and rolling military vehicles through residential neighborhoods in a fascist reaction to protests against the murder of George Floyd. It was at this point that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, realizing it had all gone too far, appeared on a Zoom and admitted his league was “wrong” for not listening to its players when they had protested against police brutality.

The implication was clear: more than any other sports league, the NFL was harshest in its reaction to the protests that began with Trayvon Martin in 2012 and continued with Ferguson, Baltimore and Colin Kaepernick. By blackballing Kaepernick, sitting by while broadcast partners refused to air the national anthem to undermine the protests, and, most embarrassingly, Goodell’s draconian announcement that teams would be subject to fines if players showed dissent, the NFL had proven itself to act in the most un-American of ways.

Howard Bryant is the author of 11 books, including Full Dissidence: Notes from an Uneven Playing Field, and Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. He also writes on Substack

• Rapper dropped from tour after pro-Palestine remarks

• Former NFL star settled case over collusion in 2019

Colin Kaepernick has accused NFL owners of colluding against Macklemore after the rapper was removed from Ed Sheeran’s tour over comments he made onstage about Palestine.

Kaepernick, whose NFL career was effectively ended in the wake of his protests against police violence, says he sees parallels between himself and Macklemore.