Roger Waters has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour, calling Sheeran a “little prick” for allowing the rapper to be dropped from the lineup over his pro-Palestinian remarks.
Macklemore was removed from the remainder of Sheeran’s U.S. tour after several venues reportedly said they would not host concerts with him on the bill. The dispute began after Macklemore made a speech supporting Palestinians during his September 4 performance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, telling the audience he wanted people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to know they had not been forgotten and declaring, “Free Palestine.” He also performed his protest song “Hind’s Hall,” which was inspired by pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University and named for Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza.
The Israeli-American Council subsequently called for Macklemore to be removed from the tour, accusing him of using the concert as a platform for what it described as a “one-sided political agenda.” The controversy intensified when Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, intervened over Macklemore’s scheduled September 25 and 26 appearances at the Massachusetts venue.
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Macklemore said Sheeran told him that Kraft had rallied other stadium owners and that they had effectively given the singer an ultimatum — keep Macklemore on the tour and risk losing their venues. Kraft has confirmed that he pressured Sheeran over Macklemore’s participation at Gillette, citing what he described as the rapper’s recent actions, material shown during his New Jersey performances and a “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery” that he said had been hurtful to the Jewish community. Kraft also said his decision was not intended to deny Palestinians the right to advocate for themselves.
Sheeran has since said that Macklemore’s removal was ultimately the promoter’s decision, not his. The singer said he had spent the week trying to “build bridges” between the parties and find a solution, but that the venues and promoter had made the final call. He also said he was “not complicit” in the decision and described himself as “appalled” by the Israel-Palestine conflict, while maintaining that he does not want his concerts to become political spaces.
The fallout has continued to spread. Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Beoga and Lukas Graham — the other remaining support acts on the tour — have all withdrawn in solidarity with Macklemore and in opposition to what they described as the silencing of political expression.
Now Waters, who has been an outspoken supporter of the Palestinian cause for years, has delivered his own verdict on the dispute.
In a video shared on social media, the former Pink Floyd bass guitarist addressed Sheeran directly.
“I just have a little message for [Sheeran],” Waters says. “There are two kinds of people in this world. There’s people who do the right thing — the rapper Macklemore would be one of those people.
“And there’s people — many of them, sadly — little f… excuse me, I nearly used the F-word then… pricks like you who do the wrong thing. Goodbye.”
Waters has previously clashed publicly with other musicians over their positions on Israel and the war in Gaza.
He responded to Disturbed singer David Draiman after Draiman said on Billy Corgan’s podcast that he wanted to “punch” Waters over what he called a “massive betrayal [of] Jews everywhere.”
Waters fired back on X, accusing Israel of carrying out “a genocide” in Gaza and attacking both Draiman and Corgan over their discussion.
“You [Corgan], being the lovely fella you are, gave this little piece of shit a chance to clarify or even modify his position,” Waters wrote. “He did. He is a psychotic racist Nazi pig.”
Waters also claimed that he had been told Draiman writes messages on bombs before they are dropped by the Israeli military on Gaza. Those claims were part of Waters’ response to Draiman and have not been independently established.
The Macklemore controversy now comes as Sheeran’s tour faces an unusual situation: the rapper has been removed from the lineup, Sheeran says the decision was made by the promoter and venues rather than him, and every remaining announced support act has subsequently withdrawn.
