Ed Sheeran speaks out against 'horrific' Oct 7 massacre, 'unjustifiable' actions in Gaza in first appearance since Macklemore's ouster

Ed Sheeran took to the stage at the Linc last night in Philadelphia for the first time since Macklemore was removed by promoters from The Loop tour. Messina Touring Group, not Sheeran, made the decision to remove the controversial rapper who has taken up the Palestinian cause. In Philadelphia, there were no opening acts and Sheeran took the stage alone with his guitar.

After Seattle rapper Macklemore was removed over his "Free Palestine" and "Hinds Hall" songs, which he'd been asked not to play by promoters due to backlash from venues, the other bands who were on the bill dropped out in solidarity. Sheeran was roundly derided by the pro-Palestinian set for not speaking up, but in Philly on Saturday night, he broke his silence. 

At the beginning of the show, he addressed the crowd. He said he was used to artistic criticism, but that during the week following Macklemore's ejection, "the criticism was about something much more important."

"I've had to take and made difficult decisions," he said, "and I am making mistakes, and I'm so, so sorry." Sheeran said he didn't consider himself an "activist musician," but that the events surrounding Macklemore's departure put him in "the middle of an important and passionate arguments about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet."

After saying he was there for the fans, he revealed that he "deeply worries about the idea that venues should pre-approve content for performers. This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world." 

It was then that he spoke to his own views on the conflict in Israel and Gaza, the most recent iteration of which began when Palestinian Hamas terrorists attacked and massacred 1,200 people on Oct. 7, 2023. "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.

"But this is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore. What happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish Pain."

Then he went on to address the Palestinian side, which is what Macklemore had been advocating for in his opening set before he was booted from the tour. "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. And the systemic injustice we're seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked."

He went on to say that everyone is welcome at his shows and that he's trying "to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times."

At one point during the show, he told the crowd that he would normally go out onto a stage that stretched into the audience but he had removed that stage, not knowing what would happen if he found himself in the middle of the crowd. "I didn't know what this audience would be like tonight," he said. "I didn't know if I would have things thrown at me, I didn't know if people would be angry at me." The crowd cheered for him, letting their feelings be known.

"Today is not the usual Loop show," he said. It was far from it. Sheeran played guitar on his own and sang after his backing band quit in support of Macklemore. He also introduced some new musicians. Those included Alicia Enstrom, a violinist.

"There are certain songs that just don’t work on the loop pedal," he told the crowd, "so when my friends dropped out of the show, I was thinking, ‘How am I gonna keep the show the same, and how am I gonna get musicians to stand on stage with me in a week when no one wants to stand on stage with me?" He praised the few musicians who joined him, both for their bravery at standing by him and for learning the music so quickly.

At the end of the show, he sat down on the stage and spoke to the fans from his heart. He thanked them for coming. He teared up when he said he'd been struggling with whether or not to continue and said, in the end, that he did it for the fans. As he heard talk about how he should cancel the tour, what he saw was that more people were buying tickets, 50,000 of them, and he was determined not to let them down.

"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," he said.

"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." His fans, however, have stood by him. "If this tour ends," he said, "love doesn't win."