Rosie O'Donnell tore into Ed Sheeran for dropping Macklemore from his tour, accusing the singer of siding with a "billionaire elite" and "supporting genocide."
The comedian unloaded on Ireland's "The Late Late Show" after Macklemore was removed from Sheeran's U.S. "Loop Tour" following repeated "Free Palestine" declarations and a performance of "Hind's Hall" at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Fox News reported O'Donnell's Friday appearance with host Patrick Kielty, where she framed Sheeran's decision as a moral failure and tied it to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
O'Donnell did not treat the dispute as a booking choice. She cast it as a choice between ordinary people and powerful owners.
She said Sheeran would pay a price for the company he kept.
"I think Ed Sheeran made a very bad mistake and that he will come to understand the ramifications of siding with a billionaire elite, in supporting genocide rather than the people who are saying, 'This is wrong. We will not stand for it. We are human beings and each human life matters and that's what's the most important thing,'"
That is how she described a tour lineup change.
Kraft owns Gillette Stadium and founded the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. Macklemore alleged Kraft told Sheeran he would not be allowed to perform there and rallied other venue owners against him.
Messina Touring Group said venues informed the promoter they would not allow concerts to proceed with Macklemore on the bill. The result was simple: Macklemore was out.
O'Donnell went further on Kraft himself when the host raised the owner's role.
"Well, he's part of the billionaire elite,"
She added:
"Those are the most corrupt people in the United States right now. And they have sort of performed a coup on the American government. And it's very tragic."
No court finding. No statute. A talk-show charge that private owners who reject a performer have seized the government.
Sheeran publicly rejected any claim that he backs Palestinian suffering. At his first concert after the controversy, in Philadelphia, he condemned Hamas' Oct. 7 attack while criticizing the scale of civilian harm in Gaza.
"What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate,"
He pledged $2 million toward humanitarian relief and asked Kraft to match it. Kraft agreed. Macklemore separately pledged $1 million he said he earned from the tour to Palestinian aid groups.
Kraft's own line cut against O'Donnell's "genocide" frame.
"Standing with the Palestinian people and standing against Hamas, antisemitism and hate should not be mutually exclusive,"
He cited Macklemore's broader record of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery, stressed the move was not meant to dismiss Palestinian suffering, and noted years of support for programs bringing Palestinians and Israelis together.
Fox News Digital sought comment from Kraft, Sheeran, and Macklemore and did not immediately receive responses.
Christian Toto, host of "Hollywood in Toto," told Fox News Digital that celebrities face one safe answer on the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
"There is only one acceptable answer for celebrities when it comes to the ongoing Israel/Palestinian conflict. Say 'Free Palestine' and nothing else,"
He called it the new industry loyalty test, similar to the entertainment world's earlier Black Lives Matter posture, and said most reporters will not press stars to defend the slogan.
"Most artists know better than to alienate audiences with their political views,"
Toto said the Springsteens, Morellos, and Macklemores are the exception. Ticket prices are high. Bands that climb on a soapbox risk repeat business. Actors, he argued, often read the approved lines to please peers and casting directors.
Nick Fondacaro, associate editor for NewsBusters, answered O'Donnell's "coup" talk and her lecture to Sheeran with a blunt ownership point.
"Are we surprised that an unabashed 9/11-truther took an irrational and unhinged position?"
He warned that claiming a coup has already happened is reckless when political violence is rising, and he said her line that Sheeran would "come to understand" the ramifications landed like a warning.
"It’s hypocritical that a multimillionaire like Rosie things that Robert Kraft didn’t have the same rights as she and Macklemore. The stadium is his property, and he can decide who to allow in or not, just like they can bar Kraft from their multimillion-dollar mansions."
That is the core the outrage machine keeps dodging. A private owner can say no. A touring artist can change a bill. A comedian with a platform can disagree. None of that is a coup, and none of it is "supporting genocide" because a venue refused a act.
When every booking dispute becomes a morality play about billionaires and genocide, the loudest voices are not defending human life. They are demanding political obedience and punishing anyone who will not recite the script.
