Ed Sheeran ProfileEd Sheeran has apologised to fans for the recent controversy surrounding Macklemore's removal from his US tour during his latest show over the weekend.
Last Tuesday, Macklemore announced that, as a result of pro-Palestinian statements he had made on stage earlier this month, he had been removed from Sheeran's US tour.
Having played just two of eight scheduled dates, Macklemore explained that Sheeran was contacted by US businessman Robert Kraft – whose company the Kraft Group owns Gillette Stadium, where the rapper was scheduled to support Sheeran on September 25th and 26th – and provided an ultimatum of either removing Macklemore from the shows, or not playing the venue.
Sheeran later weighed in, denying Macklemore's characterisation of his "typical apolitical stance" and claiming that while he is "appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine", it was ultimately the "promoters and venues" that were to blame for the removal of Macklemore.
Despite this, all of the acts involved in the tour – including Sheeran's backing band Beoga, and other openers Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and FINNEAS – all announced they would be dropping out of the forthcoming dates.
With the personnel for his US tour now drastically pared back, Sheeran nevertheless proceeded with his tour dates, appearing in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 19th, and addressing the controversy which had unfolded across the preceding week.
“This is not usually how I would open the show, but before I play some songs tonight, I hope it’s okay if I say a few words about this last week,” Sheeran said to fans as he read from a prepared statement
"I’m used to my music being criticised, and I’m always happy to take that because I’m lucky a lot of you like my stuff, and to be honest, I’m surprised. I’m not surprised that other people don’t. It’s normal.
"But this week, the criticism was about something much more important, and I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so, so sorry.”
He continued:
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.
My concerts have always been a safe space for everyone, and that matters hugely to me. Honouring my commitment to my fans is also completely central to who I am, and that is why I’m here tonight on my own and continuing my current tour.
In continuing his speech, Sheeran explained that he was worried about whether venue owners would begin to pre-approve content for performances, and ultimately addressed "the question of where I stand in the situation in Israel and Palestine".
“I have tried 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," he explained. "But this is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore.
“What happened in Israel at the Nova music festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic, unjustifiable, and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives. And the systemic injustice we’re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”
Sheeran also added he was "speaking to people across the spectrum" to find a way to make contributions to victims of these "terrible times", before thanking fans for attending the show.
"This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome, and everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing views," he concluded. "Everyone here can stand by people that they don’t agree with on everything, and they can all agree on singing these songs.
"And these songs are about love, hope and unity.”
Ed Sheeran introduces the musicians replacing Beoga, who dropped out of his tour in solidarity with Macklemore, in Philadelphia. pic.twitter.com/AEINQPqKqq
— billboard (@billboard) September 20, 2026
As the concert unfolded, Sheeran took the opportunity to explain that the stage setup was different from normal, noting he had removed the B-stage due to being "afraid of what might happen if I stood in the middle".
Likewise, in the wake of Beoga's exit from the shows, Sheeran introduced new backing musicians for the show which included the likes of Alicia Enstrom, who had previously toured with Sheeran.
Though he spoke about the potential professional risk these musicians took in standing alongside him given "the knowledge the world may hate them" due to the vitriol he had personally received, Sheeran did not specify whether the performers would be joining him for the upcoming tour dates.
In closing the show, Sheeran took the time to offer a second speech, explaining that despite the past week being one of the "worst" of his life, and the day of the show being one of the "weirdest" days of his life, he noted the Philadelphia show was "honestly the best show of my life".
"I really didn't know whether this tour would be carrying on," he continued. "I really didn't know whether I'd even be getting on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all. In these situations, you really find out who your friends are, and it's been a weird week. I just feel like it happened very quickly.
"And the whole time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour, and so many people coming out of my life that I've known for years and years and years just kind of backing away. And in the back of my mind, I saw the ticket sales for this gig. I didn't see cancellations, I saw people buying tickets for this gig... Everyone's telling me to cancel, and I'm 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't abandoned me."
Sheeran ultimately noted his decision to continue performing was to ensure that he didn't let down his fans, that he brought together people from "all backgrounds, all races, all religions, all political ideas", and stated that "if this tour ends, love doesn't win".
"This wasn't the easy option tonight," he continued. "I didn't know what was going to happen; I heard all sorts of things were going to happen. I didn't know whether I'd be safe, or you'd be safe, or things would be thrown at me, or people would boo. And I've walked out, and I've felt so much love from you guys, and I'm so grateful.
"My shows are about this: they're about unity, they're about love, they're about family. They're about people coming together that don't know each other, that have different beliefs, and jumping around like maniacs with each other and having fun. And I will never stop doing this. I will never stop doing this. I love doing this so much."
Sheeran is scheduled to continue his tour with two dates at the Kraft Group-owned Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts on September 25th and 26th.
📲| Ed’s full speech thanking for the support:
— Ed Sheeran Access (@AccessEdSheeran) September 20, 2026
‘The last week of my life was been one of the worst weeks… tonight has been honestly the best show of my life’
‘In this situations you really find out who your friends are… people I’ve knew from years ago are backing away’ pic.twitter.com/7iZIxrcujC
