Ed Sheeran Breaks Silence on Macklemore Fallout

Ed Sheeran opened a Philadelphia concert by addressing the controversy that followed Macklemore’s removal from his U.S. tour. Supporting acts had already withdrawn after the opener’s onstage remarks.

Macklemore had used Sheeran’s stadium dates to say “Free Palestine,” perform a song tied to Columbia University protests, and describe Israel’s Gaza campaign as genocide, a charge Israel rejects.

Venues and stadium interests objected. Macklemore later said Patriots owner Robert Kraft told Sheeran he would not be allowed to perform at Kraft’s stadium, and that other venues followed.

Sheeran told the Philadelphia crowd Oct. 7 was “horrific” and had compounded centuries of Jewish pain. He also said what is happening in Gaza is “unjustifiable.”

He said he had made mistakes handling the fallout and that the promoter, not he alone, made the lineup change. The comments were his first in-person remarks on the dispute since it exploded.

Macklemore later pledged $1 million from tour earnings to six Palestinian-linked groups. Kraft said Sheeran asked him to match aid for the region and publicly offered $2 million.

Jewish advocacy groups argued concertgoers had not bought tickets to hear a political ambush. Other artists and activists framed the drop as speech suppression.

The tour continued without Macklemore. Sheeran’s brief stage remarks tried to hold two statements at once: condemnation of the Hamas-led massacre and condemnation of the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.