At his first show since booting Macklemore for anti-Israel remarks, Ed Sheeran wept while calling Israel's Gaza operations in Gaza "unjustifiable," according to The New York Post. "I've never wanted to be an activist musician, but this put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet," he told the Philadelphia crowd. Admitting it was one of the "worst weeks of his life," he noted, "I really didn't know whether I'd be even get on stage again, whether I wanted to be an artist at all."
The departure of Macklemore from the tour was triggered when Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, banned the hip hop artist from Gillette Stadium because of his statements of "Free Palestine" while appearing in the Ed Sheeran concert tour, a restriction that was mirrored by various other venues nationwide, as reported by The New York Post.
Pop star Pink criticized the "Thrift Shop" vocalist, castigating him for a past incident in 2014 where he performed on stage wearing an antisemitic costume mocking Jewish people.
Ed Sheeran addresses the controversy surrounding Macklemore's removal from his tour and says, "What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable."
"Before I play some songs tonight, I hope it's okay if I say a few words about this last week," Sheeran said at the top of… pic.twitter.com/ZhtujolkKK
— Variety (@Variety) September 20, 2026
Targeting both Israel and Hamas, he said, "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." Breaking down, he added, "But this is a humanitarian issue. I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore. What happened in Israel, and at the music festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain," before stating, "What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate." He continued, "My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilian life and loss of children's lives. And the systemic injustice we're seeing unfolding the West Bank cannot be overlooked," while admitting, "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."
Explaining why this "is not the usual 'Loop' show," he said, "I usually go out to a B stage and I'm going to be totally honest with you, I didn't know what this audience would be like tonight," and "I didn't know if I would have things thrown at me." Despite his backing acts quitting, he stated, "Honoring my commitment to my fans is also completely central to who I am. And that is why I'm here tonight, on my own," adding, "I am deeply worried about the idea that venues should pre-approved content of performance," and "this happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world."
He warned that without live music, "the world is heading to a very, very, very dark place." Sheeran added, "If we get too divided…we need to come back to humanity, realize that we are all the same, and we understand each other," before smiling and stating, "I've had a week of learning." After playing "Castle on the Hill," he introduced new musicians, asking, "When my friends dropped out of this show, I was thinking, 'how 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 where no one wants to stand on stage?'" Praising them, he noted, "And I just want to say, before they come on stage, they said yes to being on stage with the knowledge that the world thought I was a certain type of person," and "They said yes with the knowledge that the world may hate them too for standing on stage with me."
Crying again, he stated, "in these situations, you really find out who your friends are." He explained: "I have so many people telling me to cancel this tour and so many people falling out of my life that I've known for years and years and years, people just kind of backing away… And then, you know, I'm there, and everyone's telling me to cancel, and I'm feeling my friends and family, and people I know abandoned me." However, he stayed because, "If this tour ends, love doesn't win." He then apologized, stating, "The one thing that I would like to apologize for is the first bit of the show where it wasn't about music, and I had to talk."
Fans supported Sheeran's candor, with Bryan Prevette telling The New York Post, "He was put in a tough spot. I am proud of him for finally speaking his mind. We are all human and I think it would have hurt more overall if he ignored all together." Prevette added, "He ripped the bandaid off," and "Was there any other [way] to do it? He had to address the elephant in the room," while attendee David noted, "It's [a] touchy subject. I thought what he said was unifying," according to The New York Post. Meanwhile, singer Pink slammed Macklemore for a 2014 antisemitic costume incident.
