Ed Sheeran addresses Gaza, Oct. 7 attacks at Philly concert after Macklemore dropped from tour

Recording artist Ed Sheeran addressed the Israel-Palestine conflict from the stage Saturday night, telling fans at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field that he could no longer remain silent about the humanitarian situation in Gaza.“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet,” Sheeran said.
He also touched upon the events of Oct. 7, 2023.
“What happened in Israel and at the Nova Music Festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain,” he said. “What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.”
He elaborated more on his views of the Gaza war.
“My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilian lives, of children’s lives,” Sheeran added. He also said that “the systemic injustice we’re seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”
Sheeran’s remarks came amid controversy surrounding rapper Macklemore, who was removed from the U.S. leg of Sheeran’s tour after making pro-Palestinian comments during a September performance. Sheeran said he had faced difficult decisions during the controversy and acknowledged that he had made mistakes.
“I’ve had to take, and make, difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so, so sorry,” he told the Philadelphia audience.

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