{"id":903323,"date":"2026-09-24T04:46:28","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T04:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/903323\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T04:46:28","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T04:46:28","slug":"ed-sheeran-controversy-singer-loses-500000-followers-as-ticket-prices-plunge-amid-macklemore-fallout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/903323\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran controversy: Singer loses 500,000 followers as ticket prices plunge amid Macklemore fallout"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed Sheeran <\/a>has lost 500,000 Instagram followers since Macklemore was booted from his Loop tour<\/a> for his \u201cFree Palestine\u201d comments made on stage. <\/p>\n

Sheeran\u2019s Instagram followers have plummeted from 47.6 million to 47.2 million in the two weeks since the Macklemore controversy started, over the pro-Palestinian comments made during his opening set. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Ed Sheeran has lost 500,000 Instagram followers since Macklemore was booted from his Loop tour for saying \u201cfree palestine.\u201d\u00a0Instagram\/teddysphotos<\/p>\n

The Thrift Shop singer claimed several stadiums told Sheeran they would not allow his concerts to proceed with Macklemore on the line-up.<\/p>\n

The recent blow for Sheeran comes as the Thinking Out Loud singer is reportedly struggling with feeling \u201cused and exploited\u201d by celebrities who were \u201cenjoying the publicity at his expense,\u201d according to The Mirror. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s completely exhausted emotionally,\u201d a source told the UK outlet<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone involved is utterly drained. And every time he tries to make the situation better, another celebrity comes out of the woodwork and criticises him.\u201d <\/p>\n

His social media following is not the only thing that\u2019s taken a hit. The cost of tickets for his remaining shows have also plummeted. <\/p>\n

Floor Tickets for his stadium shows within 50 rows of the stage are listed for just $US185 ($262) on Ticketmaster. The same floor seats were listed during presale for $US270 ($385). Meanwhile, tickets at the back of the stadium are going for $US88 ($124). <\/p>\n

The singer is due to take the stage again this Friday night at Gillette Stadium, which was the primary venue at the centre of the controversy.<\/p>\n

Stadium owner Robert Kraft issued a public statement saying he refused to let the show go on if Macklemore performed due to past \u201cantisemitic\u201d rhetoric.<\/p>\n

\"PARIS,<\/p>\n

Macklemore has stuck by his on-stage comments, despite them costing him the tour.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Macklemore alleged that Kraft rallied other stadium owners to threaten to cancel tour dates if he wasn\u2019t dropped from the lineup. <\/p>\n

After Macklemore was axed from the tour, all of Sheeran\u2019s support acts dropped out of the remaining shows<\/a>. His own touring band quit amid the controversy. <\/p>\n

Sheeran insisted the tour continue, despite ticket princes plummeting and people telling him to cancel his shows. In his first show back following the fallout<\/a>, he admitted it had \u201cbeen a weird week.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt happened very quickly. At the same time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour and so many people I\u2019ve known for years and years and years they\u2019re kind of backing away,\u201d he said at the Lincoln Financial Field show.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the back of my mind, I saw the ticket sales for this gig and I didn\u2019t see cancellations, I saw people buying tickets for this gig,\u201d he continued as the crowd started to cheer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s telling me to cancel and I\u2019m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know<\/a> abandon me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven\u2019t abandoned me,\u201d he continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also addressed the situation<\/a> in an Instagram statement, confirming that he\u2019d had conversations with venues, including Gillette Stadium owner Kraft, \u201cto try and build a bridge\u201d, but wasn\u2019t successful.<\/p>\n

\u201cMacklemore coming off tour was the promoter\u2019s decision, it was not mine. Macklemore\u2019s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"Ed<\/p>\n

After Macklemore was axed from the tour, all of Sheeran\u2019s support acts dropped out of the remaining shows. \u00a0Larry Busacca\/Getty Images for MTV<\/p>\n

Sheeran said he would not be drawn into public debate about Israel and Palestine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have always used my platform and music to bring people from all backgrounds and cultures together and this won\u2019t ever change,\u201d he said, adding that his shows were about \u201cunity\u201d and \u201cescapism\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not complicit. I have my personal views on this devastating conflict,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t have them, and it doesn\u2019t mean I don\u2019t care. Nor does it mean I don\u2019t support causes in my own, personal way.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Macklemore\u2019s original statement addressing his axing, he confessed that the pressure from Stadium executives put Sheeran in a tough position. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis typical apolitical stance was being challenged in a way it never had been before. He told me that the words \u2018Free Palestine\u2019 and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Macklemore had told the audience at Sheeran\u2019s New Jersey shows he wanted Palestinians to know \u201cwe have not forgotten about them\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"Ed<\/p>\n

Sheeran reportedly feels \u201cused\u201d and \u201cexploited.\u201d \u00a0Getty\/Theo Wargo<\/p>\n

These comments led to calls from The Israeli-American Council for him to be removed from the tour.<\/p>\n

At the following day\u2019s show, Macklemore reiterated his stance while also addressing Jewish audience members.<\/p>\n

\u201cCriticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you,\u201d he told the crowd. \u201cMy message is for peace, love, for all human beings to be treated with dignity, respect and equality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though he has now been dropped, Macklemore stood by his beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I\u2019ve ever been on,\u201d he said in his statement.<\/p>\n

However, he hoped the outcome didn\u2019t end his relationship with Sheeran, whom he considered \u201ca brother\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThirteen years of friendship doesn\u2019t disappear because of one painful disagreement,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope we both continue listening, studying what is happening in Palestine and wrestling with what neutrality means in a moment like this. My door will always be open to continuing that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran has lost 500,000 Instagram followers since Macklemore was booted from his Loop tour for his \u201cFree…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":903324,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134],"class_list":["post-903323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903323","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=903323"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/903323\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/903324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=903323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=903323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=903323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}