Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour moved to the newly closed Kennedy Center

WASHINGTON – Following a fury of backlash following the dismissal of Seattle-based rapper Macklemore from his US Loop Tour dates because of his onstage support of Palestine, which has resulted in literally every other act—including his own band—to drop out of the tour, UK singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has announced the international tour will move forward with just one venue, the recently closed Kennedy Center in Washington DC.

The Kennedy Center was closed Tuesday for renovations after the venue’s board of directors couldn’t figure out how to effectively, and illegally, enshrine President Trump’s name somewhere on the building.

“The Kennedy Center is a bit of a smaller venue, but its recent closing will just make the show a more intimate and private performance which I think Ed’s real fans will appreciate,” said Jackie Hall, a spokesperson for the tour. “We’ve also reached out to Kid Rock to see if he’d be interested in an opening act, which I’m sure he’ll agree to.”

Sheeran’s tour was first sent into a loop—see what we did there—after the singer Pink criticized his pro-Palestine comments and when New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said he would bar the “Thrift Shop” singer from playing at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts after he made a stance in support of Palestine during a recent show in New Jersey.

“Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line,” Kraft said in a statement on Monday.

Sheeran then turned to Instagram to make a statement about the situation which, to the ire of the internet, took no formal stance to support Macklemore or a stance on anything at all, claiming he wants to keep his show apolitical due to his large, young fanbase that comes from a diverse background.

“I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy, there are too many wars across the world causing immeasurable pain, none of which should be tolerated,” the post said. “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine. Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me. I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living.”

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Sheeran’s team must’ve known this post would ruffle some feathers because comments were turned off as soon as it was posted.

Now to some, taking an apolitical stance may seem like a breath of fresh air given how polarizing and political everything has become in recent years. However, this isn’t the first time Sheeran has backed himself into a corner with the internet mob on the subject of Palestine, which has even garnered a harsh response from children’s content creator and everyone’s favorite internet mom, Mrs. Rachel, with an Instagram post that said, “Imagine looking back 20 years from now at yourself kicking someone off a tour because they spoke out during a genocide that has killed 20,000 kids.”

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Now, you might be asking yourself, why would speaking out against a war that has killed nearly 75,000 people, according to gazacasualties.org? And the answer to that is simple, in the United States you mustn’t talk shit about Israel, for that is considered antisemitic. Even if the Israeli government is responsible for killing those 20,000 children. Or when it convinces our president to attack Iran and plunge us into another war that seemingly has no expiration date. To say that is to be shunned and canceled.

You must remain apolitical. You must not speak out. For this is what big brother wants.

So, because Macklemore spoke out against they who shall not be named, his time on the Loop Tour is finished. But for the silent, the show will go on … at a memorial built to share the arts with the world, and shut down because the ego of a man who wants it all cannot be endulged.