Under-fire Ed Sheeran has canceled his concerts at Robert Kraft‘s Gillette Stadium this weekend.
The Friday and Saturday shows at the venue in Foxborough, Massachusetts, have been axed due to bad weather.
It comes amid a tumultuous time for the British singer, 35, who is facing the biggest backlash of his career after he sensationally dropped US rapper Macklemore from his Loop Tour over pro-Palestine comments.
The American, 43, was axed after remarks he made at Sheeran’s New Jersey shows earlier this month – and following his dismissal, all of Sheeran’s other opening acts – Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe, as well as his backing band Beoga – announced they would be leaving the tour in solidarity with the rapper and Palestine.
Sheeran has since been accused of ‘bowing to the mob’ after he apologized to his fans for his handling of the row.
In a further blow to Sheeran’s reputation ahead of the now-scrapped shows, Ticketmaster had been offering refunds to fans amid the escalating controversy and ticket prices have plummeted to as low as $78 amid the Macklemore controversy.
Kraft told The Daily Mail in a statement, ‘Stadium and tour management, along with public safety officials, have been closely monitoring the weather forecast over the past week.
‘Due to the severe weather forecast throughout the weekend, the tour has made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium.
Under-fire Ed Sheeran has canceled his concerts at Robert Kraft’s Gillette Stadium this weekend – Sheeran pictured January 2026
The British singer, 35, is facing the biggest backlash of his career after he sensationally dropped US rapper Macklemore from his Loop Tour over pro-Palestine comments he made at the singer’s New Jersey shows earlier this month – pictured together in 2013
‘The decision was made with the safety of fans, staff and everyone involved in the shows as the top priority. Refunds are available now at the point of purchase. Ticketholders who purchased through Ticketmaster will be automatically refunded.’
Loop Tour promoter AEG Presents partnered with Messina Touring Group confirmed to The Daily Mail on Friday that Sheeran’s concerts ‘have been canceled due to a severe storm as of five mins ago.’
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Sheeran, Ticketmaster and Gillette Stadium for comment and has yet to hear back.
Macklemore said that his dismissal from the tour by Sheeran came after pressure from Kraft, in response to his pro-Palestinian messaging amid the ongoing conflict with Israel in the Mideast.
Sheeran last Saturday tearfully addressed the issue during his show in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field, saying his messaging was not generally geared toward politics.
‘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,’ Sheeran said.
Sheeran said he had ‘found out who his friends are’, adding: ‘I cannot hide how I feel… any more.’
The singer admitted to making ‘mistakes’ in his handling of the situation and backtracked on his previous vow not to bring politics to his show as he called the situation in Gaza ‘catastrophic and unjustifiable’ and Hamas’s October 7 attacks ‘horrific’.
Production insiders said Thursday that a storm in the Northeast had been disrupting the construction of Sheeran’s stage at Gillette Stadium
Stadium owner Robert Kraft said, ‘Due to the severe weather forecast throughout the weekend, the tour has made the difficult decision to cancel the Ed Sheeran concerts at Gillette Stadium’ (pictured 2023)
Promoter Messina Touring posted a statement on social media announcing the show cancellations
Sheeran last Saturday tearfully addressed the issue during his show in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field, saying his messaging was not generally geared toward politics
Macklemore earlier Thursday announced a series of Free Palestine tour dates beginning next month, with the proceeds earmarked to benefit groups providing aid to Palestinian causes. Pictured last year
In a post on Instagram, Macklemore said that his ‘schedule has freed up a bit’ in the wake of being axed from the Loop tour
He said: ‘I really didn’t know whether this tour would be carrying on. In these situations, you really find out who your friends are and it’s been a weird week. I just feel like it happened very quickly.
‘In the back of my mind, I saw the ticket sales for this gig and I didn’t see cancellations, I saw people buying tickets for this gig.
‘Everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me.
‘I look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me. People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this.’
Sheeran said his heart had been broken ‘by the scale of devastation and loss of lives’ and became emotional as he told a cheering crowd: ‘I’m so grateful you are here with me tonight.’
He apologized and became visibly emotional again at the end of the show for bringing politics to his concert – something he had vowed not to do.
Sheeran said at the end of the night: ‘The one thing that I would like to apologize for is the first bit of the show where it wasn’t about music and I had to talk.
‘I understand that people have children here and I understand that families didn’t buy a ticket to hear that first bit of the show, but that was something I felt like I needed to say.’
Sheeran had previously said that ‘those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum’.
In a solemn speech at the start of the concert, Sheeran said: ‘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 and not division, about humanity and not politics. But this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore.’
‘What happened in Israel at 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,’ Sheeran said in a video captured and shared online by a concertgoer.
‘My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives, and the systemic injustice we’re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked,’ he declared.
Sheeran told the audience that he plans to ‘continue my current tour’ despite each of his openers dropping out in solidarity with Macklemore.
By the end of the show, Sheeran broke down into tears, telling fans: ‘I’m so grateful. The world is a scary place right now. America is a scary place right now. This gives hope. This gives hope.’
The crowd broke out in applause as Sheeran appeared deeply moved.
‘My shows are about this,’ he said. ‘They are about people coming together that don’t know each other, that have different beliefs. They’re about unity. They’re about love. They’re about family.’
As fans cheered, Sheeran vowed that the controversy would not stop him from performing.
‘You’re jumping around like maniacs with each other and having fun,’ he said. ‘And I will never stop doing this. I will never stop doing this. I love doing this so much.’
Macklemore earlier Thursday announced a series of Free Palestine tour dates beginning next month, with the proceeds earmarked to benefit groups providing aid to Palestinian causes.
Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother, pulled out of his scheduled appearances in upcoming tour dates, stating that ‘artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed’
‘If these last couple of weeks have shown us anything, it’s that something has shifted over the last three years,’ Macklemore said on Instagram. ‘There has been a collective awakening around Palestinian liberation, the power of billionaires that try to censor that call, and what we expect from artists right now.’
He added, ‘When the billionaire class can decide which voices are allowed on stage and which ones are too dangerous to hear, everyone should be paying attention.’
Efforts by those who purchased tickets were already underway to obtain refunds after Sheeran had dropped Macklemore as his opening act for his North and South America tour dates.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell announced in a news release on Thursday that Ticketmaster had said it will honor hundreds of refund requests for the NFL stadium shows amid the controversy.
‘After hearing from nearly 200 consumers who were struggling to obtain refunds from Ticketmaster for Ed Sheeran’s shows at Gillette Stadium this weekend,’ Campbell said, ‘my office jumped into action to demand that consumers be provided a clear path to get their money back if they no longer want to attend due to significant changes to the lineup.
‘I encourage anyone who wants a refund to act quickly and submit their request at least 24 hours before showtime.’
