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Ed Sheeran Speaks on Gaza at Philadelphia Show

Ed Sheeran told the crowd at his first concert since the Macklemore controversy that he wants his shows to stand for unity rather than division.

Earlier this month, the British singer-songwriter and his team pulled the Thrift Shop rapper from the Loop Tour as a supporting act after he made "free Palestine" remarks during two performances in New Jersey.

Sheeran said the pressure came from promoters and venue owners, among them billionaire Robert Kraft.

On Saturday night he took the stage at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and spoke about the fallout.

He said he is used to his music being criticised and is happy to accept that, because he is lucky that many people like him, and he is not surprised that others do not. That, he said, is normal. But this week, he continued, the criticism concerned something far more important, and he had to take and make difficult decisions, and he is making mistakes, and he is very sorry.

Sheeran went on to say that he never saw himself as an "activist musician", but that his perspective has changed now that he has been pushed into the middle of the argument over freedom of speech and what he called the most complex political issue on the planet.

He said he wanted to address where he stands on the situation in Israel and Palestine, and whether performing this concert implies where he stands. He explained that he has tried in his career not to be a political commentator of any kind, because he wants his music and shows to be about unity, not division, and about humanity, not politics. But this, he said, is a humanitarian issue, and he can no longer hide how he feels about it.

Sheeran called the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups horrific and said they compounded centuries of Jewish pain.

He also described the ongoing Gaza war, fought as part of unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflicts, as catastrophic and unjustifiable.

He said his heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and the loss of civilians' lives, of children's lives, and that the systemic injustice unfolding in the West Bank cannot be overlooked. He added that he is already speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims of these terrible times, and that he is listening and learning because he does not know enough.

Although his supporting acts on the Loop Tour – Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Beoga – dropped out in solidarity with Macklemore, Sheeran said he wanted to honour his commitment to fans and perform on his own.

He told the audience he was grateful they were there to learn with him. The concert, he said, is still in place, but everyone is welcome, and everyone there can stand beside people with opposing views and beside people they do not agree with on everything, while all agreeing on singing these songs. Those songs, he said, are about love, hope and unity.

Representatives for Macklemore – whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty – have not yet responded to Sheeran's speech.

Photo: Cover Media
Source: Muzland
Added by Frank
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