Ed Sheeran has been accused of "bowing to the mob" after issuing an apology on Saturday regarding his handling of the Israel-Palestine controversy, a situation that had threatened to disrupt his tour.
The British pop star faced significant backlash after his opening act, Macklemore, was dropped from the tour due to his pro-Palestine views. During his Philadelphia concert, Sheeran read a statement from an autocue, admitting to making "mistakes" in addressing the situation. He described the situation in Gaza as "catastrophic and unjustifiable" and the Hamas attacks of October 7 as "horrific."
Commentator Piers Morgan, reposting Sheeran's speech on X, stated, "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."
Many social media users echoed Morgan's sentiment, with one posting, "His PR people need to be fired. No reason for him to have to speak to that outside of a very small mob of loudmouths." Another comment read, "This dude simply wants to play and perform and has done so for years. He's a bigger idiot than he was last week. What a disgrace to bow to the mob."
However, some defended Sheeran's use of a teleprompter, arguing it was proof of his carefulness rather than indifference. "Ed is a singer. Not a politician. Not a news anchor," one post stated. "Asking him to speak off-the-cuff about Israel and Gaza in front of 50,000 people after a week that blew up his tour is not the same as asking him to sing 'Castle on the Hill.' Using a teleprompter here is not proof he doesn't care. It's proof he was scared of getting the words wrong on something this radioactive. There is a difference."
Concertgoers outside the Philadelphia venue expressed a desire to enjoy the music and support freedom of speech. One fan noted Sheeran "covered both sides nicely, and I think everyone leaves happy," while another described his speech as "very sincere."
Sheeran told the crowd that an increase in ticket sales had convinced him to continue the tour. "In the back of my mind, I saw the ticket sales and I didn't see the cancellations," he said. "Everyone's telling me to cancel and I'm feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me — and I look at the end of the week, and I see 50,000 people who haven't abandoned me."
Podcasters Vogue Williams and Joanne McNally criticized Sheeran's earlier Instagram apology, calling it poorly handled. "This is why people need publicists," McNally said on their podcast "My Therapist Ghosted Me."
During his performance, Sheeran explained his decision to address the issue: "I have tried in my career not to be a political commentator of any kind because I want my music and shows to be about unity and not division, about humanity and not politics. But this is a humanitarian issue and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore."
He then stated, "What happened in Israel at Nova music festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate." He also spoke of his heart being "broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians' lives, of children's lives, and the systemic injustice we're seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked."
Sheeran performed without his usual backing band and support acts. He mentioned he had "found out who his friends are" during the week. He also explained that he had to make "difficult decisions" and that he "never wanted to be an activist musician."
He expressed gratitude to the audience, saying, "People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this." He became emotional during the show, telling the crowd, "I'm so grateful you are here with me tonight."
At the end of the concert, Sheeran apologized for the non-musical opening, stating, "The one thing that I would like to apologise for is the first bit of the show where it wasn't about music and I had to talk." He acknowledged that families may not have purchased tickets to hear that part of the show but felt compelled to say it.
Sheeran broke down in tears by the end of the performance, expressing his gratitude and noting, "The world is a scary place right now. America is a scary place right now. This gives hope. This gives hope."
He emphasized the unifying nature of his shows, stating, "They are about people coming together that don't know each other, that have different beliefs. They're about unity. They're about love. They're about family."
Sheeran vowed that the controversy would not deter him from performing. He mentioned concerns about his safety, explaining he scrapped his usual "B stage" setup due to worries about potential reactions from the crowd. He also brought out a new group of musicians, led by fiddler Alicia Enstrom, after his original openers dropped out.
"I asked her if she had musician friends and she said yes. And they've had three days to learn these songs. And they agreed to come on stage knowing that the world might hate them too for coming on stage with me," Sheeran said of his new collaborators.