Aaron Rowe releases statement on Ed Sheeran: "I fully believe he knows that was a mistake"

Aaron Rowe has released a statement after dropping out of Ed Sheeran's tour following Macklemore's removal for pro-Palestine remarks.

In a video posted to social media he said, "I'm gonna be honest, I think youse are all focusing on the wrong person here. All I keep hearing is Ed Sheeran this, Ed Sheeran that, when youse really should be focusing on the likes of Robert Kraft. You should really be focusing on the Zionist lobbies that are trying to silence the voices of people who are shouting about genocide...

"I know Ed's statement could have been a lot better, and I do think that Macklemore shouldn't have been pulled off the tour. I fully believe it was panic stations over there and they rushed the decision because they didn't know what to fucking do because they were getting it from all angles ... I fully believe [Sheeran] knows that was a mistake."

He went on to say that Sheeran would not have chosen openly pro-Palestine acts Beoga, BIIRD, Macklemore and others if he was pro-Israel. He also noted that Sheeran has helped him and other artists in the past.

"All he has inside of him is kindness," he continued. "That is who Ed Sheeran is. And yes, like every other human being he makes fucking mistakes."

After, he called out the Irish government, saying:

"Youse have done absolutely fucking nothing about what has gone on, considering the fucking impact that the British Empire had in our fucking country."

Rowe also said people should be "using this opportunity to plaster Robert Kraft's face everywhere. Someone who tried to shut down free speech, someone who tried to silence the voices of people who are shouting about genocide."

He concluded the statement by referencing the upcoming Nations League games between Ireland and Israel.

"Any Irish footballer out there who is going to play those fucking terrorists, you will be fucking remembered. Don't forget that," he said.

The statement comes after Macklemore was removed as a supporting act from Sheeran's LOOP tour due to his calls for a 'free Palestine' during his opening set at MetLife stadium in New Jersey on September 4.

Multiple stadium owners, led by Kraft, contacted Sheeran following Macklemore's opening set and threatened to pull the show from their stadiums if he was not removed from the tour.

Subsequently, all other support acts, including Rowe, dropped out of the tour.

Several artists, including Massive Attack, FINNEAS, Beoga, BIIRD, Hayley Williams and more have shown their solidarity with Macklemore.