Jack Antonoff trashes Ed Sheeran and claims he was cowardly for removing Macklemore from tour over Palestine comments: 'Stand the f**k up'

Jack Antonoff has slammed Ed Sheeran for removing Macklemore from his Loop Tour over the rapper's pro-Palestine remarks on stage. 

Antonoff, 42, said Sheeran, 35, needed to 'stand the f**k up' after criticizing him for allowing a 'billionaire' tell him 'what to do', in reference to stadium owners like Robert Kraft, who allegedly threatened to cancel Sheeran's shows if Macklemore was kept as his opening act.

'[Ed Sheeran] missed a massive, beautiful opportunity there: just cancel the whole f*****g tour, then play for free outside each venue, raise a bunch of money, rather than let a f*****g billionaire tell you what to do,' the Bleachers frontman said in a new interview with The Guardian. 

'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**k up.'

Antonoff noted that he's been saying 'free Palestine' onstage at his shows long before the Macklemore controversy kicked off.

He added that he feels 'more emboldened to say it now, because it's not in any way a strange, uncomfortable or controversial thing to say, it’s a deeply human thing to say.'

Jack Antonoff, 42, has slammed Ed Sheeran, 35, for removing Macklemore from his Loop Tour over the rapper's pro-Palestine remarks on stage; Antonoff pictured in October 

Antonoff said Sheeran needed to 'stand the f**k up' after criticizing him for allowing a 'billionaire' tell him 'what to do' in a new interview with The Guardian; Sheeran seen 2025

'If you think it is [controversial] you’re lost in some other sauce that is so crazy,' he went on. 

'They’re going to let some f*****g promoter tell me what I can say? Don’t book me. I’ll play for free outside.'

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Sheeran, Antonoff and Kraft for comment. 

His statement comes just over a month after Sheeran faced major backlash over Macklemore's removal from the tour after Patriots owner Kraft and a number of other NFL owners allegedly warned they would refuse to host Sheeran's performances if Macklemore stayed on.

Sheeran's shows at Gillette Stadium, one of multiple venues owned by Kraft, were eventually canceled due to weather concerns anyway. 

Just hours after he was removed from the tour, Macklemore said that Sheeran's 'typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before,' and added that Sheeran 'couldn’t get past his public facing, "I don’t take sides."' 

Sheeran's tour openers Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe all left the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. 

'[Sheeran] missed a massive, beautiful opportunity there: just cancel the whole f*****g tour, then play for free outside each venue, raise a bunch of money, rather than let a f*****g billionaire tell you what to do,' he said; Seen 2024

His statement comes just over a month after Sheeran faced major backlash over Macklemore's removal from the tour; The two seen in 2014

Patriots owner Robert Kraft (pictured) and a number of other NFL owners allegedly warned they would refuse to host Sheeran's performances at their stadiums if Macklemore stayed on

Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe, as well as his backing band Beoga all left in solidarity with Macklemore; Finneas is seen in LA back in November 2025

Sheeran has continued to receive backlash and apologized while performing in Philadelphia on September 19 (pictured), saying he was 'deeply' worried about freedom of speech

In September, Macklemore performed at two shows on Sheeran's Loop Tour and sparked polarizing reactions when he gave a 'Free Palestine' speech and performed his protest song Hind's Hall.

After each side shared their own personal statements via social media, Sheeran continued to receive backlash and apologized while performing in Philadelphia on September 19.

In an emotional speech, he’d told the crowd how he’d been abandoned by friends and family after failing to back his support act singer Macklemore.

‘I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandoned me,’ he said.

He added that he had made ‘mistakes’ in how he handled the fallout and wasn’t sure if the tour would continue.

'This has put me in the middle of an important, passionate argument about freedom of speech on the most complex issue on the planet,' he said.

He added that he 'always' intended for his music to create a 'safe space for everybody.'

'That matters hugely to me,' he told concert attendees on that day.

'Honoring my commitment to my fans is also completely essential to who I am. That is why I'm here tonight, on my own, continuing my own tour.'

He also said he was 'deeply' worried about freedom of speech being encumbered. 'It should never happen in the free world.'

Sheeran will be continuing to take his Loop Tour across the United States before wrapping in Tampa, Florida in early November.

He will then be kicking off a short leg across Latin America before concluding his world tour in Mexico City on December 11.

In September, Macklemore performed at two shows on Sheeran's Loop Tour and sparked polarizing reactions when he gave a 'Free Palestine' speech and performed his protest song Hind's Hall; pictured in August

The rapper recently revealed his Free Palestine tour - which kicks off on Monday - sold-out 'immediately', after he announced the concert in response to getting cut from Sheeran's tour 

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Meanwhile, Macklemore has revealed his Free Palestine tour sold-out 'immediately' – after he announced the concert in response to getting cut from Sheeran's tour.

'All three shows sold out immediately,' Macklemore revealed on Instagram last month.

'I’m honestly blown away. We put these shows together fast and in community, believing that musicians can stand in solidarity with Palestine, use the stage to raise funds and show what collective action can look like.'

Macklemore will embark on a three-date 'Free Palestine' tour - which kicks off on Monday night - with artists who have 'used their stages to stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, regardless of the consequences'.

The 'Macklemore & Friends: Free Palestine' tour consists of concerts in Dublin, Paris and London.