Ed Sheeran addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding the removal of Macklemore from his Loop Tour during Saturday’s stop in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Stadium.
“This is not usually how I would open the show, but before I play some songs tonight, I hope it’s okay if I say a few words about this last week. I’m used to my music being criticized, and I’m always happy to take that because I’m lucky. A lot of you like my stuff, and to be honest, I’m surprised,” he began. “But this week, the criticism was about something much more important, and I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so so sorry.”
Sheeran continued, “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. My concerts have always been a safe space for everyone, and that matters hugely to me. Honoring my commitment to my fans is also completely essential to who I am, and that is why I’m here tonight on my own and continuing my current tour.”
The “Thinking Out Loud” singer said he was “deeply worried about the idea that venues pre-approve content for performance.” He added, “This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.”
Sheeran continued, “Now, I want to address the question of where I stand in the situation in Israel and Palestine.”
“I am trying 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 how I feel about it anymore,” he said. “What happened in Israel and at the Nome Museum Festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable, and disproportionate. Our hearts can be 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 added, “I am already speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times, and listening and learning because I do not know enough.”
Sheeran’s comments follow backlash he faced for his decision to remove former opener Macklemore from the 22-city North American leg of his world tour after the rapper showed footage of Gaza and made statements in support of Palestine while performing across two shows at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Sept. 4 and 5.
Following the announcement of Macklemore’s removal, Sheeran’s supporting acts, including Aaron Rowe, Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Sheeran’s backing band, Beoga, announced they were dropping out of the tour in solidarity with the Grammy winner behind the 2024 protest anthem “Hind’s Hall.” Rowe and Graham were also expected to open for Sheeran alongside Macklemore in Philadelphia, with the “Shape of You” singer ultimately going on without any opening act.
With all of his planned openers removed or withdrawn, ticket holders were notified Friday afternoon that the concert start time had been adjusted from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. — the typical time Sheeran has launched his around two-and-a-half-hour set at previous stops. That was preceded by alleged refunds requested by fans that began earlier in the day, with the lowest ticket prices on Thursday going for $90 before dropping to around $54 on Friday night. By Saturday afternoon, the average was around $62 a ticket according to a 50 percent drop from a week earlier.
Following an inquiry, Ticketmaster told the magazine refund policies are set by event organizers and directed The Hollywood Reporter to Messina Touring Group/AEG. The Loop Tour promoter was contacted for comment.
Despite the time shift, fans still began filing into Lincoln Financial Field stadium, tailgating as early as 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Outside the venue, a pre-concert rally in part protesting Sheeran as well as Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft and Lincoln Financial Field owner Jeffrey Lurie was held by Pro-Palestine activists, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Ahead of the concert and protest, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department told THR in a statement that “as with all large events at the stadium complex, the Philadelphia Police Department is working closely with venue and event organizers to help ensure the safety of concertgoers, employees and neighborhood residents.”
As part of the department’s routine monitoring and assessment of event capacity and staffing, the city’s Civil Affairs Unit — deployed for potentially contentious public gatherings like protests or labor actions — would be “on hand to ensure everyone’s safety during protected 1st Amendment activity.”
The protest was organized and supported by a coalition of local groups, including NO ICE Philly, The Philly Palestine Coalition, Philly Writers Against the War on Gaza, the Boycott CookNSolo Coalition and Shut Down Day & Zimmermann. Ahead of Saturday’s event, the group expressed their intention to appear outside Sheeran’s concert, “his first show after caving to Zionist threats and dropping Macklemore as his opening act,” they said in a statement earlier in the week. “On Saturday, we take to the streets to return the conversation to Palestine, and return Philadelphia to action.”
The group described Macklemore’s removal from the tour lineup as done by Sheeran “in the name of ‘neutrality’ and being ‘apolitical’ and due to threats from stadium owners, including Lincoln Financial Field.”
Earlier this week, it was reported that alongside Kraft, several other stadium owners allegedly called for Macklemore’s removal from Sheeran’s tour, including Carolina Panthers’ David Tepper, Atlanta Falcons’ Arthur Blank, and Philadelphia’s Lurie.
THR reached out to representatives of Lincoln Financial Field for comment regarding concert security measures as well as artists’ and guests’ speech policies in and around the stadium.
Saturday’s events were sparked nearly two weeks earlier, when the “Thrift Shop” rapper appeared on stage and spoke to a packed MetLife Stadium crowd in New Jersey. “One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine!” Macklemore told concertgoers. “I want to say this to all of my Jewish brothers and sisters. Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you.”
In response, Macklemore was removed from the remaining U.S. Loop Tour dates. Sheeran’s concert promoter Messina Touring Group was the first to confirm that Macklemore would “not be performing on the remaining support dates.” The rapper was scheduled to open at eight out of 10 remaining cities on the tour, including Saturday’s Philadelphia stop.
In his own public statement following his removal from the tour, Macklemore stated the decision was due in part to the outcome of conversations involving Sheeran, who “told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with,” he wrote on his Instagram. “I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides.’”
While still referring to Sheeran as a friend, Macklemore also pointed to New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft as the reason he was pulled from the lineup. According to Macklemore, Kraft “had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”
Kraft later confirmed in a statement shared with THR that the decision to remove the rapper from Sheeran’s stadium tour lineup was made “based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.”
Sheeran described the situation as “the promoter’s decision, not mine” and was “based on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance, rather than on everything that was said.” In that same social media post, he expressed that after discussion with multiple parties, including “direct talks with promoters along with activists on both sides to try and find a mutual resolution for all,” both “the venue’s and promoter’s decision was final.”
“I would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living,” he added. “There is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics – my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum.”
In the week since, Macklemore shared that he donated “$1 million of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran’s Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people,” before calling on Kraft to match the donation. In response, the Patriots owner shared that he and Sheeran had agreed to donate $2 million each “to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis.”
THR reached out to a representative for the Philadelphia stadium and Lurie for comment on potential plans to match Kraft’s donation.
More to come.
