Ed Sheeran admitted he made “mistakes” and condemned both the ‘horrific’ October 7 attack and the “catastrophic” situation in Gaza as he opened his first US concert since controversy erupted over Macklemore’s removal from his tour.
Support acts and the backing band for the star’s current The Loop tour dropped out of the remaining dates after the US rapper, real name Benjamin Haggerty, was removed from the line-up following comments about the conflict in Gaza.
Taking to the stage solo at Lincoln Financial Field Stadium in Philadelphia on Saturday night, Sheeran said: “I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes and I’m so, so sorry for them.
“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve 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.”
The English singer said he had tried in the past not to be a “political commentator” because he wanted his shows to be about “unity”.
“But this is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore,” he said.
“What happened in Israel and at the Nova music festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.
“What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, children’s lives. And the systemic injustice we are seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”
Getting emotional, Sheeran told concertgoers: “I am honestly so grateful that you’re here tonight with me.
“This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome and everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing views.”
At the show’s halfway point, the singer admitted he did not know “what this audience would be like” ahead of the show, adding he wondered whether crowds would be “angry” with him.
Ahead of the concert, attendees said they were sticking by the English musician.
James Webber IV from Scranton in Pennsylvania said: “I stand with Ed. I think there’s a time for politics and a music concert is not one of those places.”
His father, James Webber III, said: “Everything will be fine. In a couple of months this will blow over. He doesn’t deserve this.
“I think he did the right thing, staying true to what he believes and the fans will support him.”
Kassandra Rivera from Philadelphia said: “Everyone has their own opinion and it’s fine.
“I came here to have a good time and watch Ed Sheeran.
“I’ve been waiting a whole year to come and see him, so I’m excited to see the show.”
Dwayne Smith from Canada said: “We’re just here for Ed Sheeran. All politics aside, we just like the music. We are here to support him. It’s not about Palestine or Israel tonight, it’s just about the music for us.”
A small but vocal pro-Palestine protest was held outside the subway station that serves the stadium, several hundred metres from the venue.
Philadelphia resident Hillary Steinberg told the Associated Press she had received a refund for her tickets and decided to attend the protest instead.
“I was, until this week, a big Ed Sheeran fan,” she said.
“I think all art is political, and all music is political, and so this choice – even though he was saying that he wasn’t complicit – is a political choice.”
The 35-year-old singer began his world tour in Auckland, New Zealand in January.
It is set to wrap up in Mexico City in December, with a total of 16 shows still scheduled across North and South America, after Philadelphia.
Acts who dropped out of Sheeran’s tour include Irish singer Aaron Rowe, Grammy award-winning musician Finneas, who is Billie Eilish’s brother, and Danish singer Lukas Graham, and Sheeran’s backing band Beoga.
On Monday, Macklemore posted on Instagram claiming Sheeran and his team had “made the decision to remove” him from the Loop Tour.
During an earlier show at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the rapper said he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
Sheeran responded in a statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday, saying it was the promoter’s decision to remove the rapper from the tour, not his.
He said “upcoming tour dates had communicated that they would pull the shows if he was still supporting”, and added that Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium where he was due to play, was among them.
Sheeran added: “I am not complicit.
“I have my personal views on this devastating conflict.
“Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.
“Nor does it mean I don’t support causes in my own personal way.”
The Shape Of You singer added he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine”, and added he respected Macklemore “as an artist”.
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