Recent Ed Sheeran support acts BIIRD and Myles Smith speak out for Macklemore: “We stand unequivocally behind every word he said”

Both BIIRD and Myles Smith , who recently supported Ed Sheeran on his ongoing ‘Loop Tour’ have spoken out in support of Macklemore , who was kicked off the line-up for sharing his support for Palestine.

READ MORE: Ed Sheeran – ‘Play’ review: a hasty retreat to the genre-spanning of old The controversy surrounding the tour started when Macklemore made an impassioned speech on-stage while opening for Sheeran, calling for “all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect, and equality” and for a “free Palestine”.

The rapper then faced calls for his removal from the tour by the Israeli-American Council , who claimed he had used his platform to “advance a one-sided political agenda”.

He then responded to critics of his on stage pleas for a “Free Palestine”, saying striving for equality “should never be controversial”, but he was still removed from the tour .

The rapper then shared a lengthy statement in which he claimed that after Robert Kraft — the owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium — started a campaign against Sheeran to drop him or the shows couldn’t go ahead.

Kraft also spoke out to defend his actions, and Sheeran claimed that he was “not complicit” or responsible for the decision, adding that he had spent the past week “trying to build bridges, to find a solution” but was “unable to do so”.

View this post on Instagram Since then, more support acts on the tour have also pulled out in solidarity with Macklemore and the people of Palestine.

These include Finneas , Billie Eilish ’s brother and musical collaborator and vocal supporter of the people of Palestine , who shared that “Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed”, and Irish acts Aaron Rowe and Beoga along with the Danish band Lukas Graham.

Now, some artists who supported Sheeran on the previous legs of the tour have also spoken out regarding the controversy, and BIIRD has said that while they have already completed their run of dates supporting Sheeran, they want to make it heard that they stand in solidarity with Macklemore.

“Following the decision for Macklemore to be dropped from the ‘Loop Tour’, we feel it is important to be clear about where we stand,” the Irish group began in their post on social media.

“Our time on the ‘Loop Tour’ has already come to an end.

Our last show was at the MetLife Stadium where we witnessed Macklemore’s speech.

We stand unequivocally behind every word he said,” they added.