Ed Sheeran removed the B stage from his Philadelphia concert Saturday night because he was “afraid of what might happen.”
In the singer’s first Loop Tour show since dropping Macklemore as an opening act over the rapper’s “Free Palestine” comments — and losing the rest of his openers as a result — Sheeran admitted he was fearful of “things [being] thrown at” him onstage.
“At this point in the show, to be honest, I usually go out on the B stage,” Sheeran, 35, explained to the audience at Lincoln Financial Field in a moment captured by a fan and shared via X over the weekend.
“I’m gonna be totally honest with you, I didn’t know what this audience would be like,” the Grammy winner noted. “I didn’t know if I would have things thrown at me. I didn’t know if people would be angry at me.”
Smiling and shrugging, Sheeran added, “I apologize that today is not the usual Loop show. I took the B stage out because was afraid of what might happen if I stood in the middle. And I will admit that.”
Sheeran’s rep did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
The songwriter’s tour kicked off in January — and Saturday’s show featured another notable difference, in addition to the missing B stage.
Sheeran pushed back his concert start time to 8 p.m. as he did not have any opening acts.
In addition to Macklemore, 43, being cut last week over “Free Palestine” comments, Sheeran’s backing band subsequently quit in solidarity along with openers Fikas, Lukas Graham and Aarow Rowe.
At the start of Saturday’s show, Sheeran addressed the drama onstage and broke down in tears.
“This is not usually how I would open the show, but before I play some songs tonight, I hope it’s OK if I say a few words about this last week,” the “A Team” hitmaker said. “I’m used to my music being criticized … but this week, the criticism was about something much more important.”
“I am making mistakes, and I’m so, so sorry,” he continued, clarifying that while he “never wanted to be an activist musician,” he is “in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.”
Sheeran concluded, “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. That is why I am here tonight, on my own, and continuing my current tour.”
Sheeran initially broke his silence via Instagram on Tuesday, writing that he’s “not complicit” in the “devastating conflict” in the Middle East — and that he was not directly behind the decision to axe Macklemore.
“Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine,” he noted. “Macklemore’s contract for the tour was with the promoter, not me. I 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.”
Messina Touring Group, promoter of the US leg of Sheeran’s Loop Tour, announced Macklemore’s removal after “discussions with shareholders” over “several venues” — including Saturday night’s stadium — “not allow[ing] a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup.”
Macklemore was the first to speak out about the drama, writing via Instagram that “wanting all humans to be treated equal should never be controversial.”
In a lengthy post Monday, he defended voicing his support for Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas War “loud and clear, so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”
The “Thrift Shop” hitmaker clarified that he and Sheeran are not “victims” in the drama as they have “careers, money, opportunities, safety and audiences around the world,” while the Palestinian people have “been killed, starved, displaced and forced to live through unimaginable violence.”
He shared his intention to remain friends with Sheeran in the social media upload.
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