Support acts and the backing band for the star’s current The Loop tour dropped out of the remaining dates after the US rapper, real name Benjamin Haggerty, was removed from the line-up following comments about the conflict in Gaza.
asserted
rapper → drop → Gaza
Taking to the stage solo at Lincoln Financial Field Stadium in Philadelphia on Saturday night, Sheeran said: “I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes and I’m so, so sorry for them.
asserted
I → take → them
“I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.”
asserted
this → want → planet
“But this is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide about how I feel about it anymore,” he said.
asserted
he → hide → it
“What happened in Israel and at the Nova music festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.
asserted
happened → happen → 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 civilian’s lives, children’s lives.
asserted
heart → break → lives
And the systemic injustice we are seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”
Getting emotional, Sheeran told concertgoers: “I am honestly so grateful that you’re here tonight with me.
asserted
you → see → me
“This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome and everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing views.”
asserted
that → stand → views
At the show’s halfway point, the singer admitted he did not know “what this audience would be like” ahead of the show, adding he wondered whether crowds would be “angry” with him.
asserted
crowds → admit → him
Ahead of the concert, attendees said they were sticking by the English musician.
asserted
they → say → musician
James Webber IV from Scranton in Pennsylvania said: “I stand with Ed.
asserted
I → say → Ed
I think there’s a time for politics and a music concert is not one of those places.”
asserted
concert → think → places
His father, James Webber III, said: “Everything will be fine.
asserted
Everything → say → ?
In a couple of months this will blow over.
asserted
this → blow → months
He doesn’t deserve this.
asserted
He → deserve → this
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“I think he did the right thing, staying true to what he believes and the fans will support him.”
asserted
fans → read → him
Kassandra Rivera from Philadelphia said: “Everyone has their own opinion and it’s fine.
“I came here to have a good time and watch Ed Sheeran.
asserted
I → say → Sheeran
“I’ve been waiting a whole year to come and see him, so I’m excited to see the show.”
asserted
I → wait → show
Dwayne Smith from Canada said: “We’re just here for Ed Sheeran.
asserted
We → say → Sheeran
All politics aside, we just like the music.
asserted
we → like → music
We are here to support him.
asserted
We → support → him
It’s not about Palestine or Israel tonight, it’s just about the music for us.”
asserted
it → ’ → us
A small but vocal pro-Palestine protest was held outside the subway station that serves the stadium, several hundred metres from the venue.
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that → hold → venue
Philadelphia resident Hillary Steinberg told the Associated Press she had received a refund for her tickets and decided to attend the protest instead.
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she → tell → protest
“I was, until this week, a big Ed Sheeran fan,” she said.
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she → say → week
“I think all art is political, and all music is political, and so this choice — even though he was saying that he wasn’t complicit — is a political choice.”
asserted
he → think → ?
The 35-year-old singer began his world tour in Auckland, New Zealand in January.
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singer → begin → January
It is set to wrap up in Mexico City in December, with a total of 16 shows still scheduled across North and South America, after Philadelphia.
asserted
It → set → Philadelphia
Acts who dropped out of Sheeran’s tour include Irish singer Aaron Rowe, Grammy award-winning musician Finneas, who is Billie Eilish’s brother, and Danish singer Lukas Graham, and Sheeran’s backing band Beoga.
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who → drop → Rowe
During a show at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey last week, the rapper said he wanted people in Gaza and the West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
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they → say → Gaza
Sheeran responded in a statement posted to Instagram on Tuesday, saying it was the promoter’s decision to remove the rapper from the tour, not his.
asserted
it → respond → his
He said “upcoming tour dates had communicated that they would pull the shows if he was still supporting”, and added that Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium where he was due to play, was among them.
Sheeran added: “I am not complicit.
“
asserted
I → say → them
I have my personal views on this devastating conflict.
asserted
I → have → conflict
“Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.
asserted
I → choose → them
“Nor does it mean I don’t support causes in my own personal way.”
The Shape Of You singer added he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine”, and added he respected Macklemore “as an artist”.
asserted
he → mean → artist
The Aporia
