Ed Sheeran apologized and acknowledged “mistakes” in his handling of the controversy that plunged his tour into chaos, as he opened his show in Philadelphia on Saturday night.
Sheeran took the stage by himself after the opening acts for his Loop Tour quit last week in solidarity with rapper Macklemore, who was dismissed over pro-Palestine comments.
“I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so, so sorry,” Sheeran told the crowd at the Lincoln Financial Field.
Here’s what to know about the controversy, and how we got here.
It began with Macklemore being dropped from Sheeran’s tour
On Monday the rapper, whose real name is Ben Haggerty, said in a post on social media he was dropped as an opening act of Sheeran’s Loop Tour.
Macklemore said Sheeran, whom he considered a friend, had been put in a difficult position challenging Sheeran’s “typical apolitical stance.”
It came after Macklemore, who is best known for his early 2010s hits “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us,” made statements in support of Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank during his two shows opening for Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month.
Macklemore said Sheeran told him that Robert Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium near Boston where Sheeran is due to play this week, had rallied some other stadium owners and given Sheeran an ultimatum: “If Macklemore stays on the tour you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”
The next day, Sheeran, famous for hits “Shape of You” and “Perfect,” defended his decision to keep politics out of his shows.
He said Macklemore had asked to join his tour last year and was playing a set list of Macklemore’s own choosing. Sheeran said he would never “abandon” the tour crew or “let down” fans who planned to attend his concerts, and he defended his decision to keep his views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict private.
Why did Kraft want Macklemore dropped?
Macklemore’s New Jersey performance, in which he said “Free Palestine” and played protest song “Hind’s Hall,” attracted criticism from some pro-Israel groups. The song referred to protests at Columbia University in which pro-Palestinian activists renamed Hamilton Hall for a Hind Rajab, a 5-year-old girl killed in Gaza.
The Israeli-American Council petitioned Sheeran to remove Macklemore from the tour, while Anti-Defamation League chief executive Jonathan Greenblatt urged stadium owners to “show their values.”
After Macklemore’s announcement, Sheeran said that the decision to remove Macklemore was made by the tour’s promoter, Messina Touring Group, and he had been unable to reach a resolution with venue owners.
Kraft, who is also the owner of the New England Patriots, said the decision to drop Macklemore was a result of his recent comments and “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery,” according to the Associated Press.
In 2014 Macklemore apologized after wearing a costume onstage that featured a large nose, a black wig and beard that was criticized as being antisemitic. Macklemore said he would never “intentionally put anybody down for the fabric that makes them who they are,” the BBC reported at the time.
Messina Touring Group, Kraft, Sheeran and Macklemore did not reply to requests for comment.
The controversy grew as supporting acts dropped out
By Wednesday, the remaining opening acts for Sheeran’s tour had pulled out in solidarity with Macklemore.
Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and frequent musical collaborator, announced their decision to withdraw on social media, as did Beoga, an Irish band that was acting as Sheeran’s touring band.
“Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation,” Graham wrote, saying he was grateful for everything he had shared with Sheeran. Rowe also thanked Sheeran and said he could not allow billionaires to “use their position of power” to silence others.
In his earlier post, Macklemore also nodded at the pressure artists face, saying he did not want to lose his friendship with Sheeran and he understood while people wanted to remain neutral. “Taking a side can cost you,” he wrote.
The rapper said on Wednesday he will donate $1 million of his earnings from Sheeran’s tour to organizations working with Palestinian people and invited Kraft to match it.
Kraft said Sheeran had already asked him to match his own $2 million donation. Kraft did not specify whether he had agreed to Sheeran’s request but said he wanted to work with him to “build bridges.”
He added: “I’d like the people who are speaking in support of the Palestinian people to know that for decades, I have supported efforts that create opportunity for Palestinians.”
What did Sheeran say?
In his first show since the controversy erupted, Sheeran told his fans in Philadelphia on Saturday that he “never wanted to be an activist musician.” But after the events of the past week, he said he “cannot hide how I feel about it anymore.”
Speaking alone on a dark stage, he called the Hamas attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, “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, of children’s lives,” he continued. “And the systemic injustice we’re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”
He became tearful as he told the crowd he was grateful they were there with him, saying: “This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome.”
Sheeran added that honoring his commitment to his fans is “completely central to who I am.” He continued: “That is why I’m here tonight, on my own and continuing my current tour.”
A pro-Palestinian demonstration gathered near the stadium ahead of the concert, with some people waving flags and holding signs that read: “Free Palestine.”
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