Classic Hits Radio, which is based in Ireland, said it had made the decision to remove the Galway Girl singer’s music for the “foreseeable future” after feedback over the incident.
“It is not intended as a personal judgment on Ed Sheeran, and we acknowledge his own explanation of the circumstances surrounding recent events.
“As an independent Irish-owned radio station, however, we believe it is important to listen to our audience and to stand alongside Irish artists who have made what is undoubtedly a significant professional decision based on their own convictions.
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“Ultimately, our position is a simple one. We believe in peace, humanity and respect, and in the right of people and artists to express and act upon their sincerely held views.
“In light of the strength of feeling expressed by our listeners and the decisions taken by Irish artists involved in the tour, we believe removing Ed Sheeran’s music from our playlist is the appropriate decision for Classic Hits Radio at this time.”
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The station said the decision to drop the British singer’s music would remain “under review”.
Irish singer Aaron Rowe, Finneas, who is Billie Eilish’s brother, and Danish singer Lukas Graham, as well as Sheeran’s backing band Beoga, all shared messages of support for Macklemore as they pulled out.
The rapper has now donated his one million-dollar (£747,328) tour net earnings to charities supporting Palestinian people, and challenged Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft, who reportedly called for his removal from the tour, to match his donation.
He said in a post on Instagram: “With everything that has happened over the last 48 hours, I want to bring the conversation back to where it belongs: to the Palestinian people who are still being killed, still living under military occupation, and still fighting for their freedom.
“I will be donating the entire one million (dollars) of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organisations working directly to support the Palestinian people.”
Addressing Kraft, he added that “whatever we disagree about, perhaps we can agree on this, Palestinian lives are worth protecting, a Palestinian life is no less valuable than any other life on this earth”.
The businessman has since responded saying Sheeran had asked him to match his two million-dollar donation before Macklemore, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, announced his pledge.
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