Kathy Griffin and Rosie ODonnell Slam Ed Sheeran Over Macklemore Concert Dispute
Left 0%
Center 0%
Right 100%
0 left · 0 center · 3 right
What happened
Rapper Macklemore was dropped as Ed Sheeran's opening act for remaining U.S. tour dates after repeatedly calling for a "Free Palestine" and performing his song "Hind's Hall" at shows including MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft barred Macklemore from that venue; tour promoter Messina Touring Group said venues would not proceed with Macklemore on the lineup. Sheeran said the decision came from the promoter and venues, not from him. Comedians Kathy Griffin, in a Queerty interview, and Rosie O'Donnell, on Ireland's The Late Late Show, then publicly criticized Sheeran for not backing Macklemore. Macklemore announced a separate "Free Palestine Tour" with dates in Dublin, Paris, and London; Sheeran and Kraft each pledged $2 million for humanitarian aid, and Macklemore pledged $1 million from tour earnings to Palestinian aid groups.
Sourcing check · Fully on the record · 3 articles
3 of 3 articles cite a named source for the story. It was on the record from the first report.
What these terms mean and how they're counted
- On the record · names a source 3 of 3
- On the record means the article cites a source by name for the story's main claim: a person, or an institution speaking officially, such as a company statement or a named agency's spokesperson. The opposite is an unnamed source. The count is how many of the counted articles cite at least one such source; the names are everyone named across them, each once however the articles spell it. Here: Kathy Griffin, Rosie O'Donnell, Christian Toto and Israeli-American Council
- Primary evidence · cites a document or data 0 of 3
- Primary evidence means the article cites a record you could check yourself: a court filing or ruling, a dataset or report, a recording or transcript, an official statement or press release, market data. A quote is not a document. The count is how many articles cite one. Here: None cited.
- Credits another outlet 0 of 3
- The article says the story comes from another outlet's reporting (“first reported by Reuters”). Those articles relay the story; they are not independent confirmation. Here: Each article presents its own reporting.
- Unnamed sources 0 of 3
- The main claim is attributed to people who are not identified: “people familiar with the matter”, “officials said”. The count is how many articles do this.
- How it developed
- When the first report landed and whether it named anyone; when the first named source and the first document appeared. Here: First report Sep 27, 23:54 UTC by Fox News, naming its source.
- Not counted 0
- Opinion, analysis and video pieces, and articles too short to assess. Every count above is out of the counted articles. An article republished under a new headline is one article.
This is about who is cited, not whether the story is true. Each source below says what it names. How we count
ONE-SIDED THIS WEEK.
Only right-leaning outlets have covered this story in the last two days;
The Hill reported it on 2026-09-24.
Omitted — what each side leaves out
Unpacked
Left-leaning outlets have not covered this story. Right-leaning coverage reports that Kathy Griffin and Rosie O'Donnell attacked Ed Sheeran after Macklemore was dropped from his tour when Robert Kraft barred him from Gillette Stadium over Free Palestine remarks. O'Donnell is quoted on Fox News accusing Sheeran of supporting genocide. A reader who follows only the silent side would not learn that two prominent entertainers publicly blamed Sheeran, or that he condemned civilian harm in Gaza after the split.
Right-leaning outlets disagree on what else belongs in the frame. Sheeran's humanitarian pledge of $2 million appears only in the O'Donnell-focused Fox News report. The claim that Griffin misunderstood the First Amendment appears in Breitbart, which notes the amendment does not bind private venue owners.
What contractual power, if any, did Sheeran have to keep Macklemore on the remaining U.S. dates once venues refused?
Bottom line
Fox News is running Rosie O'Donnell accusing Ed Sheeran of supporting genocide over dropping Macklemore; left-leaning outlets have not reported the attacks.
The Right View
Fox News and Breitbart treated Griffin's and O'Donnell's remarks as the story, quoting Griffin saying Sheeran should have told Kraft to "go f--- yourself" and O'Donnell accusing Sheeran of "siding with a billionaire elite" and "supporting genocide." Both outlets framed Kraft's ban as a response to antisemitism and quoted the Israeli-American Council praising Kraft for "moral leadership" in denying Macklemore a stage. They reported Sheeran's account that venues and the promoter made the call, his later onstage comments condemning Hamas's Oct. 7 attack and calling Gaza's civilian suffering "catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate," and the competing aid pledges. Conservative commentators cited in the coverage argued celebrities face one-sided industry pressure on the Israel-Palestinian conflict and that Kraft, as a private venue owner, had the right to exclude a performer.
Our Take (balanced)
The core events are substantive and checkable: named actors, a documented change to a major tour, on-the-record interviews, and public statements from Sheeran, Kraft, Macklemore, Messina Touring Group, and the Israeli-American Council. Griffin's and O'Donnell's quotes are established. What remains alleged or characterized, not independently documented in these reports, is that Sheeran "supports genocide," that Kraft executed a coordinated multi-venue blacklist, and that Macklemore's performances constitute antisemitism. Kraft's reported calls to other stadium owners are described by Macklemore and Griffin without contracts or contemporaneous records published here. No left-leaning outlet has reported this. Watch for promoter or venue communications, any contractual filings, a direct response from Sheeran to Griffin and O'Donnell, and whether Macklemore's announced October dates in Dublin, Paris, and London proceed.
3 sources
More stories
The week's bottom lines, in your inbox
One email a week: the five stories that mattered and what they actually mean. Free.