Ed Sheeran says Gaza situation ‘unjustifiable’ after pro-Palestinian Macklemore booted from tour

Ed Sheeran addressed the controversy surrounding his tour at a concert in Philadelphia on Saturday. The English singer-songwriter had dropped opening act Macklemore after the rapper made pro-Palestinian comments onstage, leading to the rest of the supporting acts withdrawing from the tour in solidarity. Sheeran told the crowd that he had made "difficult decisions" and "mistakes" in the past week, and that he had traditionally stayed out of politics.

Sheeran expressed his views on the Israel-Hamas war, referencing the massacre at the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023, which he described as "horrific" and a compounding of "centuries of Jewish pain". According to ABC News, he also stated that the situation in Gaza is "catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate". Sheeran said he had "tried in his career not to be a political commentator of any kind" but felt compelled to speak out.

Despite the controversy, some fans at the concert expressed their continued support for Sheeran, saying that they separate the music from the politics. According to The Jerusalem Post, one fan, Joy VanRuler, said "it doesn't need to be political" and that she supports both Sheeran and Macklemore.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post, The Hill, ABC News (US), Billboard — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.