{"id":290193,"date":"2026-09-20T09:28:09","date_gmt":"2026-09-20T09:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/290193\/"},"modified":"2026-09-20T09:28:09","modified_gmt":"2026-09-20T09:28:09","slug":"ed-sheeran-addresses-macklemore-palestine-fallout-concert-protested","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/290193\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran Addresses Macklemore Palestine Fallout: Concert Protested"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEd Sheeran<\/a> addressed the ongoing controversy surrounding the removal of Macklemore<\/a> from his Loop Tour during Saturday\u2019s stop in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Stadium.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThis is not usually how I would open the show, but before I play some songs tonight, I hope it\u2019s okay if I say a few words about this last week. I\u2019m used to my music<\/a> being criticized, and I\u2019m always happy to take that because I\u2019m lucky. A lot of you like my stuff, and to be honest, I\u2019m surprised,\u201d he began. \u201cBut this week, the criticism was about something much more important, and I\u2019ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I\u2019m so, so sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSheeran continued, \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. My concerts have always been a safe space for everyone, and that matters hugely to me. Honoring my commitment to my fans is also completely essential to who I am, and that is why I\u2019m here tonight on my own and continuing my current tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201cThinking Out Loud\u201d singer said he was \u201cdeeply worried about the idea that venues pre-approve content for performance.\u201d He added, \u201cThis happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Grammy winner continued, \u201cNow, I want to address the question of where I stand in the situation in Israel and Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI am trying in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind because I want my music and shows to be about unity, not division. About humanity, not politics. But, this is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable, and disproportionate. Our hearts can be 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<\/p>\n

\n\tHe added, \u201cI am already speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times, and listening and learning because I do not know enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSheeran\u2019s comments follow backlash he faced for his decision to remove former opener Macklemore from the 22-city North American leg of his world tour after the rapper showed footage of Gaza and made statements in support of Palestine while performing across two shows at New Jersey\u2019s MetLife Stadium on Sept. 4 and 5.<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing the announcement of Macklemore\u2019s removal<\/a>, Sheeran\u2019s supporting acts, including Aaron Rowe, Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Sheeran\u2019s backing band, Beoga, announced they were dropping out of the tour<\/a> in solidarity with the Grammy winner behind the 2024 protest anthem \u201cHind\u2019s Hall.\u201d Rowe and Graham were also expected to open for Sheeran alongside Macklemore in Philadelphia, with the \u201cShape of You\u201d singer ultimately going on without any opening act.<\/p>\n

\n\tWith all of his planned openers removed or withdrawn, ticket holders were notified Friday afternoon that the concert start time had been adjusted from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. \u2014 the typical time Sheeran has launched his around two-and-a-half-hour set at previous stops. That was preceded by alleged refunds requested by fans that began earlier in the day, with the lowest ticket prices on Thursday going for $90 before dropping to around $54 on Friday night. By Saturday afternoon, the average was around $62 a ticket, according to a 50 percent drop from a week earlier.<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter playing his opening, Sheeran joked as he acknowledged his lack of openers and described his musical setup without a backing band. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI didn\u2019t know whether I\u2019d be here or not,\u201d he told the crowd. \u201cI hope you enjoyed my support performers this evening. I hope you\u2019re great. This is the Loop Tour. The Loop Tour is this thing at my feet, which is called a loop station. It\u2019s this loop station. Everything you hear tonight is completely live. It\u2019s made on the spot, controlled my feet. There\u2019s no backing track whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFollowing an inquiry, Ticketmaster told the magazine refund policies are set by event organizers and directed The Hollywood Reporter to Messina Touring Group\/AEG. The Loop Tour promoter was contacted for comment.<\/p>\n

\n\tDespite the time shift, fans still began filing into Lincoln Financial Field stadium, tailgating as early as 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.<\/p>\n

\n\tOutside the venue, a pre-concert rally in part protesting Sheeran as well as Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft<\/a> and Lincoln Financial Field owner Jeffrey Lurie was held by pro-Palestine activists, beginning at 4:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

\n\tA line of police vehicles were already idling around the L lot side at 4 p.m. outside the stadium. That visible police presence not only lasted all night, but ahead of the concert extended to the NRG rail station stop, where protestors had gathered as a self-described show of support for Gaza and Philadelphia\u2019s organizing community, its mutual aid efforts and dedication to uplifting voices from Palestine. Alongside repeated and pointed criticism of Sheeran, Kraft and Lurie, protest speakers also called out local entities, including a weapons manufacturer Day & Zimmerman and a celebrity restaurateur.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe gathering, which was only briefly disrupted by a local rightwing influencer and provacatour towards its end, urged \u201cdrawing this attention, drawing the eyes of the world, the eyes of the media\u201d away from Sheeran, Kraft, \u201crich white people\u201d and \u201cthe Zionist billionaires that run this country,\u201d according to one speaker. Adi Chattopadhyay, the press liaison for protest organizers Shut Down D&Z, Writers Against the War on Gaza, NO ICE Philly, and Philly SJP Coalition, emphasized \u201cthat Ed Sheeran is getting attention and Macklemore is getting attention because he wasn\u2019t allowed to say \u2018Free Palestine,\u2019 but we are here to amplify what Macklemore\u2019s actual message was, which is that as we speak, Palestinians and Gaza are still enduring barbaric conditions. This the greatest moral atrocity of our lifetime.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBrandon Ateke, an 18-year-old student from Northern Indiana currently attending Brown University, was in attendance at the protest with his mother \u2014 a choice he made as a long time fan of Macklemore and Sheeran\u2019s. Ateke told THR the reason behind his decision to attend the concert shifted after Sheeran\u2019s Instagram post indicating his position on Israel-Gaza and Macklemore\u2019s removal from the tour. As both a fan of Macklemore and Sheeran, keeping his tickets, which he purchased months ago, instead of refunding them meant that he would still attend the protest while not allowing additional money or space to be made. The day marked his first at a protest action, an important moment for a fan who told THR he felt like Sheeran was using fans himself to deflect from the need to speak up.<\/p>\n

\n\tInside the stadium ahead of Sheeran\u2019s message, an uneven energy permeated the venue in the act-less two hours before the gates opened, as fans acknowledged the tour fallout in various ways. A particular focus of conversation was the ticket price drops and visible number of empty seats.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile making her way to her seats, Megan, a mother from New Jersey, was approached by either a member of the venue or event\u2019s staff, and asked if she\u2019d like to move to any of the available lower level seats with her family. Megan told THR that her decision to come was entirely driven by her young daughter.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI just wanted to have a night out with my husband and my daughter where we could enjoy music that we love. She\u2019s a huge Sheeran fan,\u201d Megan explained, nodding to her daughter. \u201cI was just hoping we could make it here and not disappoint her and that we would be safe in doing so. We gave [the tickets] to her for the holidays last year as a gift and she\u2019s been waiting all that time asking, \u2018How many more months? How many more months?\u2019 I didn\u2019t want to tell her that it wasn\u2019t happening. It\u2019s the last thing I wanted to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAnother attendee, a woman in her late 30s who traveled from New Jersey and requested her name not be used, said she was coming because she \u201chad bought tickets months ago, and I was still coming to see him. No politics involved.\u201d An older mother-daughter duo, who also asked that their names not be used but live in the Philadelphia suburbs, noted that they were both major fans of Sheeran, and the night marked the first time they would see him live together. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cHe was caught between a rock in a hard place,\u201d said the 32-year-old daughter. \u201cWith the timing, it was really a lose-lose.\u201d Added her mother: \u201cThe entire situation was unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe backlash to Sheeran and Macklemore\u2019s removal hovered over the concert in big and small ways. At various points, Sheeran made references to the Eagles, arguably Philadelphia\u2019s most popular pro sports team, but whose owner was also allegedly among those who refused to allow the tour to go on with Macklemore still on the bill. The \u201cI Don\u2019t Care\u201d singer also acknowledged the MetLife Stadium was \u201clouder\u201d during one moment of call and response. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be louder than MetLife,\u201d he told the crowd. The biggest moment probably came as Sheeran shared that he\u2019d \u201cbeen feeling [down] all week,\u201d but the crowd had picked him up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot said about the musicians that were playing before me not being here tonight, but also the musicians that I usually play with on stage not being here tonight,\u201d he told the crowd. \u201cAt this point in the show, to be honest, I usually go out to a B stage and I\u2019m going to be totally honest with you, I didn\u2019t know what this audience would be like tonight. I didn\u2019t know if I would have things thrown at me. I didn\u2019t know if people would be angry.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe revealed he took the B stage out \u201cbecause I was afraid of what might happen if I stood in the [middle of the audience] and I will admit that. So the show\u2019s a little bit different, but there are certain songs that just don\u2019t work on the loop pedal.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\tStill referring to his backing band as his friends, the musician noted that when they \u201cdropped out of this show, I was thinking, \u2018How am I going to keep the show the same? And how am I going to get musicians to stand on stage with me in a week when no one wants to stand on stage with me?’\u201d He shared he found the answer in another friend and artist he toured with \u201call of last year, all the year before and the year before that. And I said to her, \u2018Would you stand on stage with me?\u2019 And she said yes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sheeran eventually revealed the entire backing band, which learned the music in three days. \u201cThey said yes to being on stage with the knowledge that the world thought I was a certain type of person,\u201d he added. \u201cThey said yes with the knowledge that the world may hate them too for standing on stage with me. And I am so grateful for them being here.\u201d<\/p>\n

At another point, ahead of singing \u201cCamera,\u201d he expressed, \u201cThere are very few places in the world where this many people can congregate and all have differing opinions, but then all come together in one night and agree on the same thing. And I think it\u2019s a really wonderful thing.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI kind of think without it, without this sort of thing, I think the world is heading to a very, very, very dark place,\u201d Sheeran said. \u201cIf we get too divided \u2014 we need to come back to humanity and realize that we are all the same and we understand each other. I\u2019ve had a week of learning, that\u2019s what I\u2019ve had, week of learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the end of the show, the four-time Grammy winner thanked his fans and said, \u201cI didn\u2019t know whether this tour would be carrying on. I really didn\u2019t know whether I\u2019d be even getting on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSheeran said he had \u201cso many people telling me to cancel the tour and so many people falling out of my life that I\u2019ve known for years and years and years, people just kind of backing away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\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 he told the crowd. \u201cPeople will say what they want, but I\u2019m doing this for you. \u2026 I love bringing people together from all backgrounds, all races, all religions, all political ideas. Lots of people here have differing opinions, and we\u2019ve had a great night, and you are standing next to people and dancing with people you may disagree with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSheeran continued to thank concertgoers for \u201chow much effort\u201d it took to attend Saturday night\u2019s show. He continued, \u201cThis wasn\u2019t the easy option tonight. I didn\u2019t know what was gonna happen. I heard all sorts of things were gonna happen. I didn\u2019t know whether I\u2019d be safe or you\u2019d be safe or things would be thrown at me, people would boo. And I\u2019ve walked it. I\u2019ve felt so much love from you guys, and the world is a scary place right now. America is a scary place right now. This gives hope.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe singer also said that \u201cthe one thing that I would like to apologize for is the first bit of the show where it wasn\u2019t about music and I had to talk. I understand that people have children here and I understand the families didn\u2019t buy [a ticket] to hear that first bit of the show, but that was something I felt like I needed to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSo for all the parents there who brought their kids here tonight, thank you so much for for bringing them. My shows are about this,\u201d Sheeran added. \u201cThey\u2019re about unity. They\u2019re about love. They\u2019re about family. They\u2019re about people, as we said, people coming together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAhead of the concert and protest, a spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department told THR in a statement that \u201cas with all large events at the stadium complex, the Philadelphia Police Department is working closely with venue and event organizers to help ensure the safety of concertgoers, employees and neighborhood residents.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAs part of the department\u2019s routine monitoring and assessment of event capacity and staffing, the city\u2019s Civil Affairs Unit \u2014 deployed for potentially contentious public gatherings like protests or labor actions \u2014 would be \u201con hand to ensure everyone\u2019s safety during protected 1st Amendment activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe protest was organized and supported by a coalition of local groups, including NO ICE Philly, The Philly Palestine Coalition, Philly Writers Against the War on Gaza, the Boycott CookNSolo Coalition and Shut Down Day & Zimmermann. Ahead of Saturday\u2019s event, the group expressed their intention to appear outside Sheeran\u2019s concert, \u201chis first show after caving to Zionist threats and dropping Macklemore as his opening act,\u201d they said in a statement<\/a> earlier in the week. \u201cOn Saturday, we take to the streets to return the conversation to Palestine, and return Philadelphia to action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe group described Macklemore\u2019s removal from the tour lineup as done by Sheeran \u201cin the name of \u2018neutrality\u2019 and being \u2018apolitical\u2019 and due to threats from stadium owners, including Lincoln Financial Field.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEarlier this week, it was reported<\/a> that alongside Kraft, several other stadium owners allegedly called for Macklemore\u2019s removal from Sheeran\u2019s tour, including Carolina Panthers\u2019 David Tepper, Atlanta Falcons\u2019 Arthur Blank and Philadelphia\u2019s Lurie.<\/p>\n

\n\tTHR reached out to representatives of Lincoln Financial Field for comment regarding concert security measures as well as artists\u2019 and guests\u2019 speech policies in and around the stadium.<\/p>\n

\n\tSaturday\u2019s events were sparked nearly two weeks earlier, when the \u201cThrift Shop\u201d rapper appeared on stage and spoke to a packed MetLife Stadium crowd in New Jersey. \u201cOne of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: Free Palestine!\u201d Macklemore told concertgoers. \u201cI want to say this to all of my Jewish brothers and sisters. Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide in no way is a criticism of you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn response, Macklemore was removed from the remaining U.S. Loop Tour dates. Sheeran\u2019s concert promoter Messina Touring Group was the first to confirm<\/a> that Macklemore would \u201cnot be performing on the remaining support dates.\u201d The rapper was scheduled to open at eight out of 10 remaining cities on the tour, including Saturday\u2019s Philadelphia stop.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn his own public statement following his removal<\/a> from the tour, Macklemore stated the decision was due in part to the outcome of conversations involving Sheeran, who \u201ctold 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 wrote on his Instagram. \u201cI told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood. But he couldn\u2019t get past his public facing, \u2018I don\u2019t take sides.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tWhile still referring to Sheeran as a friend, Macklemore also pointed to New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium owner Kraft as the reason he was pulled from the lineup<\/a>. According to Macklemore, Kraft \u201chad rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tKraft later confirmed in a statement shared with THR that the decision to remove the rapper from Sheeran\u2019s stadium tour lineup was made \u201cbased on Macklemore\u2019s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran\u2019s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tSheeran described the situation as \u201cthe promoter\u2019s decision, not mine\u201d and was \u201cbased on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance, rather than on everything that was said.\u201d In that same social media post, he expressed that after discussion with multiple parties, including \u201cdirect talks with promoters along with activists on both sides to try and find a mutual resolution for all,\u201d both \u201cthe venue\u2019s and promoter\u2019s decision was final.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI would never let down the fans who had made plans, nor would I abandon the touring crew and the other support acts and musicians who rely on me for work and to make a living,\u201d he added. \u201cThere is a reason I do not use my professional platform for politics \u2013 my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the week since, Macklemore shared that he donated \u201c$1 million of my net earnings from Ed Sheeran\u2019s Loop Tour to six organizations working directly to support the Palestinian people,\u201d before calling on Kraft to match the donation. In response<\/a>, the Patriots owner shared that he and Sheeran had agreed to donate $2 million each \u201cto aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tTHR reached out to a representative for the Philadelphia stadium and Lurie for comment on potential plans to match Kraft\u2019s donation.<\/p>\n