{"id":903088,"date":"2026-09-20T16:46:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T16:46:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/903088\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T16:46:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T16:46:11","slug":"ed-sheeran-clarifies-gaza-stance-again-blames-venues-for-kicking-macklemore-off-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/903088\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran Clarifies Gaza Stance, Again Blames Venues for Kicking Macklemore Off Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed Sheeran<\/a> ended the longest week of his career on Saturday by sharing his thoughts on Israel\u2019s continued assault on Gaza and further addressing the severe backlash to Macklemore being removed from the singer\u2019s ongoing tour. Ahead of his headlining performance in Philadelphia, Sheeran explained to fans that he \u201cnever wanted to be an activist musician\u201d but that the expulsion of Macklemore\u2014along with the subsequent resignations<\/a> of Sheeran\u2019s additional support acts and entire backing band\u2014had put him \u201cin the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply worried about the idea that venues should pre-approve content of performers,\u201d said Sheeran, without mentioning Macklemore\u2019s name or accepting responsibility that he had anything to do with the rapper being kicked off the tour in the first place. \u201cThis happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.\u201d<\/p>\n

On September 14, Macklemore accused<\/a> longtime friend Sheeran of crumbling under pressure from New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft for allegedly threatening Sheeran with cancelling the show if he did not drop Macklemore as an opener. Sheeran later blamed the promoter, Messina Touring Group, for his tourmate\u2019s removal. Kraft admitted to involvement in the decision to remove Macklemore but did not respond to the rapper\u2019s claim that he had rallied owners of other tour venues to follow suit.<\/p>\n

Macklemore\u2019s shows\u2014including the two he played with Sheeran\u2014have long included footage of Israel\u2019s bombing of Gaza and a performance of \u201cHind\u2019s Hall,\u201d the rapper\u2019s song for Hind Rajab, a five-year-old killed by the Israeli military. Following his removal, Macklemore pledged to donate $1 million<\/a> of his net earnings from the tour to six organizations supporting Palestinian aid and challenged Kraft to match. Kraft, at Sheeran\u2019s urging, donated $2 million for \u201caid in the region\u201d\u2014though the Patriots\u2019 owner has yet to specify whether that money is going to the same charities as Macklemore\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Sheeran also used his pre-show speech to further share his thoughts about October 7 along with Israel\u2019s ongoing assault on Palestinians. \u201cWhat happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat is happening in Gaza is catastrophic, unjustifiable, and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians\u2019 lives, of children\u2019s lives. And the systemic injustice we\u2019re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.\u201d You can read Sheeran\u2019s full opening remarks below.<\/p>\n

Later in the set, Sheeran brought out replacements for his first backing band, Beoga<\/a>, who resigned in solidarity with Macklemore alongside Finneas<\/a>, Lukas Graham<\/a>, and Aaron Rowe<\/a>. \u201cThey said yes to being on stage with the knowledge that the world thought I was a certain type of person,\u201d said Sheeran about his new group. \u201cThey said yes with the knowledge that the world may hate them too for standing on stage with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before the finale, Sheeran further spoke about the pressures he faced of canceling the rest of the tour. \u201cTonight has been honestly the best show of my life,\u201d he said. \u201cI really didn\u2019t know whether this tour would carry on, I really didn\u2019t know whether I\u2019d get on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all. But, you know, in these situations, you really find out who your friends are.\u201d He added, \u201cEveryone\u2019s telling me to cancel and I\u2019m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me and I look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven\u2019t abandoned me.\u201d<\/p>\n