Ed Sheeran Addresses Macklemore Controversy During Latest Performance

Right before his performance in Philadelphia on Saturday, Ed Sheeran publicly addressed the Macklemore controversy. 

The “Thrift Shop” hitmaker was dropped from the US portion of Sheeran’s tour after speaking out in support of the Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas War. Following Macklemore’s dismissal, Sheeran’s other opening acts resigned. 

Right before the show was to start at Lincoln Financial Field, Sheeran spoke out about the situation, stating he had to make “difficult decisions.” 

“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician,” he said, per a video of the speech. “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.”

Sheeran then stated, “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.”

Speaking about what led to the war, which was the Hamas-led attack at the Nova Music Festival in October 2023, Sheeran stated the tragedy was “horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.” The “Shape of You” singer also acknowledged the war by noting that what was happening is “catastrophic and unjustifiable.” 

“My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives,” he pointed out. “The systemic injustice we are seeing unfolding in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”

Sheeran also said he was speaking with “people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times.” He also admitted he did not “know enough” about the situation. 

“This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome,” he continued. “And everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing views, and everyone here can stand beside people that they don’t agree with on everything, but they can all agree on singing these songs.”

Sheeran then kicked off the performance. 

Macklemore previously spoke out about his dismissal from Sheeran’s tour. He said that Sheeran had a phone call with Robert Kraft, who owns Gillette Stadium through the Kraft Group. 

“Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium,” Macklemore claimed. “Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.”

Macklemore also said that he and Sheeran, who he is friends with, had ‘some difficult conversations” about the situation as well. He said the talks were rooted in “love and respect” for one another that still ended in a “place of fundamental disagreement.” 

“Nothing I’m writing here is out of spite or because I want to tear down his character,” he stated. “But as I told Ed multiple times on the phone, our friendship can’t change my responsibility to tell the truth about what happened.”

Among the opening acts that pulled out of Sheeran’s tour were Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe. The singer’s backup band, Beoga, also dropped out. 

Sheeran initially said in a statement that Macklemore’s removal from the tour was not his decision, but rather the promoter’s. Kraft also said in a statement that he did not want to “provide a platform for hate speech” and had taken issue with Macklemore’s “recent actions.”

After Macklemore announced plans to donate the $1 million he earned while on Sheeran’s tour, Kraft said Sheeran had asked him to match a $2 million donation to “aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis.”