Ed Sheeran Addresses Macklemore Controversy While on Stage at First Concert Since Rapper Dropped From Tour: ‘What Is Happening in Gaza Is Catastrophic and Unjustifiable’

During his Saturday night performance at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field, Ed Sheeran publicly addressed the fallout from Macklemore's removal from his Loop Tour for the very first time. The show represented his first stage appearance since the rapper was dropped from the remaining U.S. dates. The venue, home to the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles, seats roughly 69,000 people and ranks among the largest stadiums on the East Coast.

Before launching into his set, Sheeran told the packed stadium he felt compelled to discuss the preceding week. While criticism of his music has become routine—something he views as an acceptable cost of fame—he made clear this controversy carried substantially more gravity. The 2017 album ÷ (Divide), which produced hits like "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill," had already made him one of the top-selling recording artists of his generation. He offered an apology to the audience and conceded he had made errors while handling tough choices. According to Sheeran, he never sought the role of an activist musician, yet he found himself at the center of a fierce dispute over free expression and one of the most polarizing geopolitical issues in the world. Concerts, he insisted, have to function as safe environments, and his dedication to fans is precisely why he took the stage alone that evening and chose to carry on with the tour.

Midway through the performance, Sheeran brought out substitute musicians who had stepped in for Beoga, the Irish folk ensemble that had previously toured as part of his live band before exiting the remaining U.S. shows. Beoga, formed in 2002 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, built a reputation for blending traditional Irish music with contemporary influences before collaborating with Sheeran. Certain tracks, Sheeran noted, depend on a full band arrangement and simply cannot be delivered with only a loop pedal—forcing him to reconstruct the production in under a week, at a moment when, by his own account, nobody wanted to be linked to him. He thanked the new players for signing on despite the danger of guilt by association. The situation also led Sheeran to scrap the B stage—the smaller platform positioned near the crowd where he normally performs a handful of songs—because he feared for his safety. "I didn't know if I would have things thrown at me," he said. "I didn't know if people would be angry at me."

The uproar traced back to remarks Macklemore made onstage during Sheeran's Sept. 4 and 5 concerts at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The rapper, whose 2012 collaboration with Ryan Lewis produced the Grammy-winning "Thrift Shop," used the platform to discuss the Gaza and West Bank conflict, declared "Free Palestine" to the audience, and performed "Hind's Hall," his 2024 protest song. The Israeli-American Council and other Jewish and pro-Israel groups denounced the statements and pushed for his removal. Messina Touring Group, the promoter behind the U.S. leg, then confirmed Macklemore would be absent from remaining dates, explaining that venues had declined to host concerts featuring him—a choice the promoter said could have forced the cancellation of shows for hundreds of thousands of ticket holders. Sheeran had previously issued a statement making clear the decision originated with the promoter and venues rather than himself, while voicing serious unease about venues pre-approving performance content. "This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world," he said.

On Saturday, Sheeran went beyond his earlier statement. He restated his dismay over the Israel-Palestine conflict, describing the suffering as a human tragedy, but also offered a candid account of his own position. He characterized the Oct. 7 attack in Israel—including the assault on the Nova music festival—as horrific and as deepening centuries of Jewish trauma, while labeling the situation in Gaza catastrophic, unjustifiable, and disproportionate. The sheer number of civilian deaths, including children, along with systemic injustice in the West Bank, cannot be overlooked, he said, adding that he is already speaking with people across the political spectrum about ways to assist victims, though he conceded he does not know enough. Macklemore later said the two men held difficult conversations following the MetLife shows; he respects Sheeran as a person but rejected the singer's preference for public neutrality and stated he has no regrets about speaking out. The rapper has since committed $1 million to Palestinian relief organizations. The consequences reached beyond Macklemore: singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe, Danish band Lukas Graham, Finneas—previously booked for South American dates—and Beoga all pulled out, each pointing to Macklemore's removal as the reason. Even so, the Philadelphia concert went ahead as scheduled, kicking off the next leg of Sheeran's U.S. stadium run.