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Grammy-winning producer Jack Antonoff said Ed Sheeran missed a “massive” opportunity to “stand the f— up” to billionaire interests, criticizing the English singer for removing Macklemore from his tour over the rapper’s remarks on Israel-Palestinian conflict.
Antonoff, lead singer for the band Bleachers and producer behind some of Taylor Swift’s biggest hits, made the scathing rebuke in a recent interview with The Guardian, more than a month after Sheeran faced backlash over Macklemore’s removal from the Loop Tour following the rapper’s calls for “Free Palestine” during his opening act.
“If you think it is [controversial] you’re lost in some other sauce that is so crazy. They’re going to let some f—ing promoter tell me what I can say? Don’t book me. I’ll play for free outside,” Antonoff told the outlet.
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New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was among a group of NFL team owners who reportedly threatened to bar Sheeran’s stadium performances if Macklemore was included in the lineup.
Antonoff argued that Sheeran should have canceled the tour and staged free concerts outside the venues rather than give in to pressure from billionaires.
“[Ed Sheeran] missed a massive, beautiful opportunity there: just cancel the whole f—ing tour, then play for free outside each venue, raise a bunch of money, rather than let a f—ing billionaire tell you what to do,” Antonoff said. “The reason it’s not an anomaly or niche issue is because we all live in a world where billionaires are constantly telling us what to do. So stand the f— up.”
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Sheeran addressed the controversy during his Philadelphia tour stop, saying in part: “What happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.”
Several other artists scheduled to open for Sheeran, including Finneas, Aaron Rowe and Lukas Graham, dropped out of the tour in solidarity with Macklemore, who has doubled down on his message with a “Free Palestine Tour.”
Antonoff, who has also voiced support for a “free Palestine,” praised Macklemore for speaking out. The Jewish artist said he has “felt way more emboldened to say it now.”
“It’s not in any way a strange, uncomfortable or controversial thing to say, it’s a deeply human thing to say,” said the producer.
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Film critic and Hollywood in Toto founder and editor Christian Toto told Fox News Digital that Antonoff does not care about free speech, arguing that his comments are an attempt to gain approval within his industry.
“Jack doesn’t sound well-informed, either about Middle East politics or his own business,” Toto said in a statement. “If Sheeran scrapped his tour, how many workers would lose their jobs? And, if he did an alternative tour, how would they get paid?”
“He knows it’s acceptable within his industry to blanketly bash billionaires, a lazy, thoughtless attack and do a variation of ‘Free Palestine,'” Toto continued. “He’s trying to curry favor within his industry. Sadly, it might just work.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to Sheeran and Macklemore for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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