Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 07:34pm on 20 Sep 2026,Sunday International
Ed Sheeran apologised to fans during his first concert since Macklemore was removed from his tour. Speaking in Philadelphia, Sheeran said he had made “mistakes” while dealing with the controversy. He said the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel was horrific and described the situation in Gaza as catastrophic and unjustifiable. Sheeran said he had not wanted to become a political commentator but felt he could not ignore the humanitarian crisis. Macklemore was dropped after making pro-Palestinian remarks during a performance. Several support acts later left the tour, citing concerns about free speech. The concert continued peacefully.
