Ed Sheeran has been accused of ‘bowing to the mob’ by critics after he apologised to fans on stage for his handling of an Israel-Palestine row that has threatened to wreck his tour.
The backlash follows an escalating controversy on his North American Loop Tour, which recently unraveled when his opening act, American rapper Macklemore, was dropped from the lineup over onstage pro-Palestinian remarks.
The US rapper made the comments at two performances at MetLife Stadium on September 4 and 5, as he introduced his 2024 protest song Hind’s Hall which condemns Israel’s military action in Gaza.
After Macklemore was dropped from performing at upcoming dates, all of Sheeran’s opening acts – Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe, as well as his backing band Beoga – announced they would be leaving the tour, in solidarity with the rapper and Palestine.
Whilst on stage in Philadelphia on Saturday night, Sheeran read a statement from an autocue admitting to making ‘mistakes’ in his handling of the situation.
‘What happened in Israel, and at the music festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. The systemic injustice we are seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.’
He backtracked on his previous vow not to bring politics to his show, as he called the situation in Gaza ‘catastrophic and unjustifiable’ and Hamas’s October 7 attacks ‘horrific’.
He also expressed deep worry over stadium venues vetting and pre-approving the political content of artists in the free world.
Reposting Sheeran’s speech on X, Piers Morgan commented: ‘I agree with Ed Sheeran’s overview of the Israel/Hamas war (Oct 7 terrible, Israel response disproportionate) but I wish he hadn’t bowed to the mob and felt forced to say it publicly, especially reading it off an autocue like some bullied puppet. He needs better advisors.’
While the heaviest fighting has subsided since a ceasefire took hold in October, Israel has continued to carry out strikes in Gaza, with the Hamas-run health ministry claiming at least 1,375 people have been killed since the agreement went into effect.
