Fox News host Tomi Lahren is sympathizing with singer Ed Sheeran after multiple support acts dropped out of his tour in solidarity with rapper Macklemore, whom she called a “moron” for expressing his pro-Palestine views during a concert.
“Poor Ed Sheeran, by the way,” Lahren told her Fox News colleague Sean Hannity Tuesday night.
“He is the actual headliner here, and his opening acts — not just Macklemore, but now the other ones that are dropping out in solidarity— they’re taking all the shine away from Ed Sheeran and his tour, where he’s out there to actually play music to people who want to hear good music,” she continued.
See Lahren’s comments below:
Macklemore had been opening for Sheeran on the English singer’s tour, but was removed from the remaining dates after remarks he made at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month, where he proclaimed, “Free Palestine.”
“I want those words to be loud and clear so that people from Gaza all the way to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten them,” he said onstage.
Macklemore accused Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft of working with other stadium owners to give Sheeran an “ultimatum,” threatening to cancel the rest of Sheeran’s tour if Macklemore remained as an opener.
On Instagram, Macklemore said Sheeran “was in a fucked up position.”
“His typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with,” Macklemore wrote.
Several artists, including Billie Eilish’s brother Finneas O’Connell, Irish band Beoga and Danish band Lukas Graham, all dropped out of Sheeran’s tour.
Lahren called Macklemore “a clown” and took a personal jab at him, saying, “I don’t think Macklemore has had a hit since like 2010, so I’m not even sure why he’s opening for Ed Sheeran.”
“He’s blatantly anti-Semitic, and I’m somebody who’s a free speech absolutist,” she said. “I think we should let all the morons say all their moronic things so we can point out how moronic they are.”
Sheeran, in his own statement, said it “was the promoter’s decision” to remove Macklemore from the tour, writing, “I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy.”