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PHILADELPHIA: Ed Sheeran opened a concert Saturday with comments about Gaza after controversy swirled around his tour and\u00a0supporting acts withdrew in solidarity\u00a0with opener Macklemore, who was\u00a0dropped\u00a0after making pro-Palestinian comments onstage.<\/p>\n
Sheeran began the concert alone on stage with no opener, but was joined by other musicians later in the show.<\/p>\n
Sheeran said he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics. But he said the attacks in Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, were horrific and what is happening in Gaza \u201ccatastrophic and unjustifiable.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to disappoint fans, and I\u2019ve 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,\u201d Sheeran said during his performance at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
The comments before a nearly full stadium came after a tumultuous week that began with rapper Macklemore, Sheeran’s original US opener, being dropped in response to exclaiming \u201cFree Palestine\u201d during a Sept. 5 show in New Jersey.<\/p>\n
Sheeran has said he was not responsible for the decision, which came at the urging of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. His company owns a stadium where Sheeran\u2019s tour was scheduled to play on Friday.<\/p>\n
Within hours of Sheeran\u2019s statement Tuesday, his supporting acts withdrew.<\/p>\n
Sheeran has performed many songs solo during his Loop Tour concerts, but was joined for several songs at each stop by the Irish folk band Beoga before they dropped out in support of Macklemore.<\/p>\n
Macklemore was replaced by Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe before they backed out, and Finneas, Billie Eilish\u2019s brother and musical collaborator, was due to tour with Sheeran in South America later this year before he too dropped out this week.<\/p>\n
Before Saturday’s show, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators congregated outside the stadium. Hillary Steinberg, 34, said she got concert tickets a year ago but wound up getting a refund and attended the demonstration instead, disappointed that Sheeran did not take a stand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was, until this week, a big Ed Sheeran fan,\u201d Steinberg said. \u201cI think all art is political, and all music is political, and so this choice \u2014 even though he was saying that he wasn\u2019t complicit \u2014 is a political choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diane Savitz, a 53-year-old from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, got tickets months ago and attended. She said she is a big Sheeran fan, doesn’t think he did anything wrong and a concert is not the place for politics.<\/p>\n
\u201cA concert should be for people enjoying the music. Music should bring people together,\u201d Savitz said. \u201cEveryone has their right to freedom of speech, but not every platform is the place for it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Macklemore said Wednesday he is donating $1 million to support Palestinian relief efforts and called on Kraft to match the gift; a spokesperson for Kraft has said the billionaire and Sheeran have each agreed to donate $2 million but have not specified where the money will be directed. Sheeran’s representatives have not responded to multiple requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Sheeran was the\u00a0No. 3 top-earning concert act\u00a0of the millennium so far, industry magazine Pollstar calculated in late 2025.<\/p>\n
Sheeran has said the tour promoter was ultimately responsible for the decision to drop Macklemore.<\/p>\n
The Grammy winner was adamant earlier this week that he wouldn’t be drawn into discussion of the war in Gaza, arguing that his fans don\u2019t come to his shows to hear about these issues.<\/p>\n
He also said he \u201cspoke with the venues at length all week to try to build a bridge\u201d before Macklemore was dropped. He insisted he would never willingly let down his fans or abandon the touring crew and others who rely on him to make a living.<\/p>\n
While promoters and venues\u00a0wield great power over concert tours,\u00a0experts say an artist of Sheeran’s magnitude generally has the final say about what happens concerning the shows.<\/p>\n
Sheeran told the crowd in Philadelphia that everyone is welcome at his concerts, and they can have opposing points of view while still singing his songs, which are about \u201clove, hope and unity.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also told fans he worries about venues preapproving performances.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world,\u201d Sheeran said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n