Macklemore was removed from Ed Sheeran's US tour after voicing onstage 'Free Palestine' statements. Rolling Stone, Billboard, The Guardian, The Washington Post and RTE reported the decision.

Pink said she received heavy backlash after panning his live sets. She explained she was standing up for her own people and it was lonelier than expected. Macklemore would later say that at a certain level of exposure, the phrase turns into too big a risk.