Ed Sheeran used his first show since the Macklemore controversy to apologize to fans and say he can no longer hide how he feels about Gaza. He did it Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, before he sang a single note.
The speech ran a little over two minutes, and Sheeran got choked up delivering it. He told the crowd this was not how he usually opens a show, then went straight into the week he just had. He said he has had to make difficult decisions, adding, “I am making mistakes, and I am so, so sorry.”
Then he said the part people on every side were waiting for. He called the Oct. 7 attack on an Israeli music festival horrific and said it added to centuries of Jewish pain. In the next breath, he called what is happening in Gaza “catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.” He said his heart has been broken by the loss of civilian lives and children’s lives, and that what is unfolding in the West Bank cannot be overlooked. “I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore,” he said.
Sheeran told the crowd he never wanted to be an activist musician, but the week put him in the middle of a fight over free speech and what he called the most complex political issue on the planet. He said performers should be free to speak, and that his concerts are still a place where people with opposing views can stand next to each other and agree on singing the songs.
That is a major shift from where he stood days ago. The Macklemore controversy started on Sept. 5 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, where the rapper, wearing a keffiyeh, told the crowd a big reason he took the tour was to stand in stadiums and say “Free Palestine.” He also performed his 2024 protest song “Hind’s Hall” and told Jewish fans that criticizing Israel is not criticism of them. On Sept. 14, he was dropped from the remaining U.S. dates.
Macklemore says the push came from Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium. According to Macklemore, Sheeran told him Kraft would not allow him to perform at Gillette and had rallied other stadium owners to give Sheeran an ultimatum. Kraft confirmed he barred Macklemore from his stadium, citing what was said from the stage in New Jersey and what he described as a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric. Kraft has not addressed the claim that he got other owners involved, and that part has not been confirmed.
Sheeran’s first public response was that the tour’s promoter, Messina Touring Group, made the call, and that he would not be pulled into a public debate about the war. That is when the Macklemore controversy spread to the rest of his lineup. Within about an hour on Tuesday, every remaining supporting act walked. Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and collaborator, who was set to join the South American leg, said artists “must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed.” Irish singer Aaron Rowe and Danish band Lukas Graham, who were lined up to replace Macklemore, both left. So did Irish folk band Beoga, which had been performing with Sheeran in the middle of his set. Lukas Graham took a clear swipe at Kraft, saying nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak.
Macklemore then announced he is donating the entire $1 million he earned on the tour to six Palestinian aid groups, including the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund and Medical Aid for Palestinians, and challenged Kraft to match it. Kraft responded that Sheeran had already called him and asked him to commit $2 million to match a donation Sheeran was making to humanitarian aid in the region. Kraft did not say which organizations would receive the money.
Saturday was the first real test. About 50 demonstrators gathered near the stadium before the 8 p.m. show, chanting “Free Palestine” over drums and trumpets and calling Macklemore’s removal censorship. Philadelphia police monitored the scene, and no clashes between fans and protesters were reported. Some ticket holders tried to sell their seats over the Macklemore controversy. Karen DeAngelis, who planned her trip from Gloucester, Virginia, for almost a year, told NBC Philadelphia she was disappointed that Sheeran did not defend Macklemore.
Inside, with no opening act and no Beoga, Sheeran started the night alone with an acoustic guitar. A backup band joined him later in the show. The North American leg of the Loop Tour runs through Nov. 7 at Raymond James Stadium.