Ed Sheeran had one of the roughest nights of his career at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. Mid-show, he broke down in tears telling a crowd of 50,000 that his friends, family, and longtime people had“abandoned”him. It all traces back to Macklemore being dropped from the Loop Tour over pro-Palestine comments made onstage. When that happened, every opening act quit in solidarity with Macklemore, and Sheeran’s own backing band walked out too.
The fallout got personal fast. Sheeran removed his B stage in Philly because he feared people would throw things at him or boo, and his cousin Jethro Sheeran publicly called him a“selfish individual”and a“coward”on Instagram. Then there’s the money angle: Macklemore donated one million dollars to Palestinian relief and called on Robert Kraft to match it. Kraft responded with two million instead. Sheeran’s next tour stops are September 25 and 26 at Gillette Stadium, which Kraft owns.
Sheeran did get one moment of comfort, looking out at the crowd and saying,“I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me.”This whole thing touches free speech, family loyalty, and the Israel-Palestine debate all at once, and it’s not cooling down anytime soon.
What do you think? Should artists get dropped from tours over political speech, or should the show go on?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.