Listen to article \u2022\u00a00:00 min<\/p>\n
At his first concert since controversy roiled his North American tour,<\/a> Ed Sheeran said he is \u201cdeeply worried\u201d by venues influencing performances after opener Macklemore was fired from the concert lineup<\/a> for making pro-Palestinian remarks on stage. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I am so, so sorry,\u201d Sheeran told the crowd Saturday night at Lincoln Financial Field in South Philadelphia<\/a>. Earlier in the evening, before the 8 p.m. concert, dozens of pro-Palestinian activists protested outside the Linc<\/a> for what they called censorship. <\/p>\n \u00bb READ MORE: Demonstrators descend on the Linc ahead of Ed Sheeran concert, decrying Macklemore\u2019s removal from the tour for his pro-Palestinian comments<\/a><\/p>\n The British singer-songwriter said he\u2019s never wanted to disappoint fans or be an \u201cactivist musician,\u201d but he\u2019s been thrust into the middle of \u201cimportant and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n Earlier this month, the supporting act, \u201cThrift Shop\u201d rapper Macklemore, performed his 2024 protest song, \u201cHind\u2019s Hall,\u201d which is about pro-Palestinian demonstrators at Columbia University. During the show, Macklemore chanted \u201cFree Palestine\u201d and a screen behind him showed footage from the war in Gaza. In both the song and his statements to the crowd, Macklemore implied he believes the conflict is a genocide. <\/p>\n Afterwards, Macklemore said <\/a>he had been fired after venues told the tour\u2019s promoter they would prohibit the rapper from performing because of his comments. Sheeran said<\/a> that venues threatened to \u201cpull\u201d upcoming shows if Macklemore stayed on the billing because of how he \u201cconveyed part of his message.\u201d Both artists attributed those statements to Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium where Sheeran\u2019s \u201cLoop Tour\u201d is scheduled to stop later this month. <\/p>\n \u201cI am deeply worried about the idea that venues could pre-approve content and performance,\u201d Sheeran said. \u201cThis happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.\u201d <\/p>\n Sheeran, who has been an apolitical pop figure, acknowledged the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, saying it was \u201chorrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.\u201d He also said what\u2019s happening in Gaza is \u201ccatastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate\u201d and that the \u201csystemic injustice we\u2019re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.\u201d<\/p>\n Throughout the more than two-minute speech, a seemingly emotional Sheeran said that he wants his concerts to be a \u201csafe space for everyone\u201d:<\/p>\n \u201cThis concert is still a place where everyone is welcome and everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing views, and everyone here can stand by people that they don\u2019t agree with on everything,\u201d he said, \u201cbut they can all agree on singing these songs.\u201d <\/p>\n