An emotional Ed Sheeran took to the stage and addressed the matter in person for the first time with an apology to his fans for the ‘mistakes’ made after Macklemore’s removal from the tour
Ed Sheeran addressed the controversy for the first time in person
Ed Sheeran opened his latest concert with an apology to his fans for the “mistakes” he has made after controversy erupted over Macklemore’s removal from the tour following on-stage comments the rapper made about the conflict in Gaza.
The singer addressed the matter in person for the first time at his concert in Philadelphia on Saturday.
Speaking on stage at the beginning of his concert, he said: “I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes and I’m so, so sorry for them.
“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.”
Ed Sheeran continued to tell his fans: “I have tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind because I want my music and shows to be about unity, not division, about humanity, not politics.
“But this is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide about how I feel about it anymore.
“What happened in Israel and at the Nova music festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.
“What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilian’s lives, children’s lives. And the systemic injustice we are seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”
His message comes after all of the support acts for the star’s current The Loop tour announced they were dropping out of the remaining dates after Macklemore was dropped from the line-up.
Sheeran’s backing band Beoga also announced they were stepping down, writing on Instagram that they “fully supported” Macklemore’s message.
Other acts who dropped out of Sheeran’s tour include Irish singer Aaron Rowe, Grammy award-winning musician Finneas, who is Billie Eilish’s brother, and Danish singer Lukas Graham.
On Monday, Macklemore posted on Instagram claiming Sheeran and his team had “made the decision to remove” him from the Loop Tour.
During a show at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last week, the rapper said he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
Sheeran responded in a statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday, saying it was the promoter’s decision to remove the rapper from the tour, not his.
He said “upcoming tour dates had communicated that they would pull the shows if he was still supporting”, and added that Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium where he was due to play, was among them.
Sheeran added: “I am not complicit.
“I have my personal views on this devastating conflict.
“Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.
“Nor does it mean I don’t support causes in my own personal way.”
The Shape Of You singer added he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine”, and added he respected Macklemore “as an artist”.
On stage on Saturday an emotional Sheeran added: “I am honestly so grateful that you’re here tonight with me.
“This concert is still a place where is welcome and everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing views, and everyone can stand beside people that they don’t agree with on everything, but they can all agree on singing these songs.”
