Ed Sheeran opened a concert on Saturday with comments about Gaza after controversy swirled around his tour and supporting acts withdrew in solidarity with opener Macklemore, who was dropped after making pro-Palestinian comments onstage at an earlier show.
Sheeran began the concert alone on stage with no opener, but was joined by other musicians later in the show.
Sheeran said he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics. But he said that while the attacks in Israel of 7 October, 2023, were horrific, what is happening in Gaza “catastrophic and unjustifiable” and slammed it as “disproportionate”.
“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,” said Sheeran during his performance at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
The comments before a nearly full stadium came after a tumultuous week that began with rapper Macklemore, Sheeran's original US opener, being dropped in response to saying “Free Palestine” during a 5 September tour stop in New Jersey.
Sheeran has said he was not responsible for the decision, which came at the urging of New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft. His company owns a stadium where Sheeran’s tour was scheduled to play on Friday. Within hours of Sheeran’s statement Tuesday, his supporting acts withdrew.
Sheeran has performed many songs solo during his Loop Tour concerts, but was joined for several songs at each stop by the Irish folk band Beoga before they dropped out in support of Macklemore.
Macklemore was replaced by Danish band Lukas Graham and Irish singer Aaron Rowe before they backed out, and Finneas, Billie Eilish’s brother and musical collaborator, was due to tour with Sheeran in South America later this year before he too dropped out this week.
Before Saturday's show, a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators convened outside the stadium.
Hillary Steinberg, 34, said she got concert tickets a year ago but wound up getting a refund and attended the demonstration instead, after she was disappointed that Sheeran refused to take a stand to defend Macklemore or empathise with the plight of the Palestinian people.
“I was, until this week, a big Ed Sheeran fan,” Steinberg 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.”
Diane Savitz, a 53-year-old from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, got tickets months ago and attended. She said she is a big Sheeran fan, doesn't think he did anything wrong and a concert is not the place for politics.
“A concert should be for people enjoying the music. Music should bring people together,” Savitz said. “Everyone has their right to freedom of speech, but not every platform is the place for it.”
The Grammy winning artist was adamant earlier this week that he wouldn't be drawn into discussion of the war in Gaza, arguing that his fans don’t come to his shows to hear about these issues. But, as the controversy grew, and ticket prices and sales declined, he decided to address the issue head on.
Sheeran told the crowd in Philadelphia that everyone is welcome at his concerts, and they can have opposing points of view while still singing his songs, which are about “love, hope and unity.”
He also told fans he worries about venues pre-approving performances.
“This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world,” Sheeran said.
