Ed Sheeran ended the longest week of his career on Saturday by sharing his thoughts on Israel’s continued assault on Gaza and further addressing the severe backlash to Macklemore being removed from the singer’s ongoing tour.Ahead of his headlining performance in Philadelphia, Sheeran explained to fans that he “never wanted to be an activist musician” but that the expulsion of Macklemore—along with the subsequent resignations of Sheeran’s additional support acts and entire backing band—had put him “in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.”“I am deeply worried about the idea that venues should pre-approve content of performers,” said Sheeran, without mentioning Macklemore’s name or accepting responsibility that he had anything to do with the rapper being kicked off the tour in the first place.
“This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.”On September 14, Macklemore accused longtime friend Sheeran of crumbling under pressure from New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft for allegedly threatening Sheeran with cancelling the show if he did not drop Macklemore as an opener.Sheeran later blamed the promoter, Messina Touring Group, for his tourmate’s removal.
Kraft admitted to involvement in the decision to remove Macklemore but did not respond to the rapper’s claim that he had rallied owners of other tour venues to follow suit.Macklemore’s shows—including the two he played with Sheeran—have long included footage of Israel’s bombing of Gaza and a performance of “Hind’s Hall,” the rapper’s song for Hind Rajab, a five-year-old killed by the Israeli military.Following his removal, Macklemore pledged to donate $1 million of his net earnings from the tour to six organizations supporting Palestinian aid and challenged Kraft to match.
Kraft, at Sheeran’s ur...