Highlights
- Ed Sheeran said friends, family and people he has known for years have been “backing away” amid the controversy.
- The singer became emotional while addressing 50,000 fans during his Philadelphia show.
- Sheeran said he chose to continue his tour despite being urged by people close to him to cancel.
Ed Sheeran has opened up about the personal toll of the controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal from his Loop Tour, revealing that some friends and family members have distanced themselves from him.
The singer became emotional while speaking to around 50,000 fans at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday, admitting that the past week had made him reassess some of his closest relationships.
Ed Sheeran says people close to him were ‘backing away’
During the show, Sheeran said the situation had unfolded quickly and had left him feeling isolated. “In these situations you really find out who your friends are. It’s been a weird week. It happened very quickly.”
He continued: “At the same time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour and so many people I’ve known for years and years and years, they’re kind of backing away.”
Sheeran added that he had been looking at ticket sales for the Philadelphia concert while people around him were telling him to cancel.
“Everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me,” he said.
The singer did not name the friends or family members he was referring to. However, his cousin Jethro Sheeran has publicly criticised him on social media during the fallout.
His cousin publicly criticised him
Jethro accused Sheeran of being a “selfish individual” and claimed the singer had made fun of his mental health. He also said he was ashamed of his cousin and criticised his music.
These comments came as Sheeran faced growing controversy over Macklemore’s removal from the tour.
Sheeran has previously said that the decision to remove Macklemore was not his and that he had tried to mediate between the rapper, promoters and venues.
Macklemore was dropped from the tour following controversy surrounding pro-Palestinian comments made during his performances. Several other scheduled performers, including Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga, subsequently withdrew from the tour.
Sheeran thanks fans for standing by him
Despite the pressure to cancel, Sheeran told the Philadelphia crowd that their support had encouraged him to continue.
“I look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me,” he said. “People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this.”
Sheeran also explained why the Philadelphia show looked different from his usual Loop Tour performances. He said he had removed the B-stage because of security concerns.
“I apologise that today is not the usual Loop show,” he told the crowd. “I took the B-stage out because I was afraid of what might happen if I stood in the middle.”
The singer later described the Philadelphia concert as the “best show” of his life, despite calling the preceding week one of the worst he had experienced. He is next scheduled to perform at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on September 25 and 26.
