- Have YOU got a story?
asserted
YOU → get → story
- Get exclusive reporting, celebrity gossip, sensational photos and more every Tuesday morning in our new Spotlight US newsletter HERE
Ed Sheeran thanked Tampa fans for their support as he prepared to take his tour to South America – amid continued backlash over Macklemore's dismissal for his on-stage, pro-Palestine comments.
asserted
he → get → comments
On Saturday, Sheeran, 35, thanked his audience at Tampa, Florida for their support with video of him taking multiple bows before a cheering crowd.
asserted
him → thank → crowd
'Thank you Tampa, thats(sic) the end of the North American stadium tour, see you soon Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico x,' he captioned the post.
asserted
he → thank → post
Sheeran has one more performance scheduled in the United States – a show on November 9th in Yellow Springs, Ohio – before he takes off for Chile.
asserted
he → have → Chile
The tour will take Sheeran to Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil before it ends in Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes in Mexico City on December 11.
asserted
it → take → December
It comes weeks after Sheeran and his tour were plunged into controversy after rapper Macklemore was dropped as an opener over pro-Palestine comments he made during support slots at Sheeran's New Jersey shows.
asserted
he → come → shows
Ed Sheeran announced his tour is now headed to South America as he thanked Tampa fans for all their support.
asserted
he → announce → support
Sheeran has been embroiled in backlash after his opener Macklemore was dropped by the tour for pro-Palestine comments made on stage
Macklemore was removed from Sheeran's tour after US stadium owner Robert Kraft accused him of hate speech for comments he made during two performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in early September.
Macklemore said on stage that every human being deserves the same freedom, and told the crowd he wanted people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
He then performed his protest song Hind's Hall while images of the devastation in Gaza were projected on the big screens at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
asserted
images → embroil → Jersey
Kraft subsequently banned him from performing at the Gillette Stadium near Boston, which is owned by his holding company, leading to his departure from Sheeran's tour.
asserted
which → ban → tour
After Macklemore was dropped, all of Ed'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.
asserted
they → drop → rapper
Sheeran continued to receive backlash and apologized while performing in Philadelphia on September 19 and said he had made ‘mistakes’ in how he handled the fallout.
'
asserted
he → continue → fallout
This has put me in the middle of an important, passionate argument about freedom of speech on the most complex issue on the planet,' he said.
asserted
he → put → planet
The video showed Sheeran taking multiple bows before his cheering audience.
asserted
Sheeran → show → audience
After he was dropped, Macklemore launched a sold-out, three-date concert series benefitting organizations which support 'the Palestinian people and movement.
asserted
which → drop → people
Above, at his London show last week
He added that he 'always' intended for his music to create a 'safe space for everybody.'
'
asserted
music → add → everybody
That matters hugely to me,' he told concert attendees on that day.
asserted
he → matter → day
'Honoring my commitment to my fans is also completely essential to who I am.
asserted
I → honor → fans
That is why I'm here tonight, on my own, continuing my own tour.'
asserted
I → continue → tour
He also said he was 'deeply' worried about freedom of speech being encumbered.
asserted
he → say → speech
'It should never happen in the free world.'
asserted
It → happen → world
Sheeran also said: 'What happened in Israel and at the Nova music festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.
asserted
happened → say → pain
'What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.
asserted
happening → happen → Gaza
'My heart has been 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.'
asserted
we → break → Bank
The tour, held in Dublin, Paris, and London, quickly sold-out.
asserted
tour → hold → Dublin
In response to the dismissal, Macklemore announced a Free Palestine tour benefitting organizations which support 'the Palestinian people and movement.
asserted
which → announce → people
The three-date tour, consisting of shows in Dublin, Paris and London, quickly sold-out.
asserted
tour → consist → Dublin
'The Free Palestine Tour is my favorite thing I’ve ever been a part of,' he recently wrote on Instagram.
asserted
he → write → Instagram
'I am still overwhelmed with gratitude and awe for every musician who stepped on stage in London.
asserted
who → step → London
Every person who chose to be there.
asserted
who → choose → ?
We live in an era where advocating for Palestinian life and freedom is controversial.
asserted
advocating → live → life
Where saying that Palestine should be free, that Palestinians deserve the same dignity, safety and rights as everyone else, can come at a cost.
asserted
deserve → deserve → cost
The tour served as a reaffirmation that when we collectively use our voices, our stages and our platforms to stand for the freedom of others, something profound happens.
asserted
something → serve → others
'When we move beyond the fear of “how will this affect my career?” and center collective liberation, something shifts.
asserted
something → move → liberation
Love is found.'
asserted
Love → find → ?
The Aporia
