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Ed Sheeran apologizes for 'making mistakes,' says situation in Gaza 'unjustifiable'

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Cite

Moore, J. (2026, September 20). Ed Sheeran apologizes for 'making mistakes,' says situation in Gaza 'unjustifiable'. ABC News (US). https://abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/ed-sheeran-apologizes-making-mistakes-situation-gaza-unjustifiable/story?id=136593007

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

ABC News (US) · collected 2026-09-20 · by Jack Moore

Quick Summary

At his concert in Philadelphia on Saturday, Ed Sheeran addressed recent controversies surrounding pro-Palestinian statements made by fellow performer Macklemore and apologized to fans for any mistakes he has made. Sheeran stated that he supports freedom of speech but criticized the current situation in Gaza as "catastrophic and unjustifiable," while acknowledging the historical trauma suffered by Jews. The controversy started when Sheeran’s tour promoter removed Macklemore from the U.S. leg of his tour after Macklemore made political statements on stage, leading other opening acts to withdraw from the tour.
Written by AI on 2026-09-20, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Macklemore was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s US tour after making pro-Palestinian comments at concerts. The rapper was removed following his chants of “Free Palestine” and criticism of Israel's actions as apartheid and genocide during performances in New Jersey. Promoters for the tour, Messina Touring Group, confirmed they received notifications from American venues that Macklemore would not be allowed to perform, potentially resulting in tour cancellation. Robert Kraft, owner of Gillette Stadium where Sheeran was scheduled to play, reportedly pressured Sheeran over Macklemore’s involvement. In response, Charlotte Church criticized Ed Sheeran during a concert for prioritizing profits over addressing the Gaza conflict.

Written for “Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 120 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Macklemore Dropped From Ed Sheeran Tour
Entertainment · 121 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
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Hedges 2 of 41 claims Outlet record 66/100
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Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 69/100
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⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 16 claims Outlet record 60/100
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
21
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 21 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
70/100
ABC News (US)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
121
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-20 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (US) · 1264 article(s) · 3 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 3 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jack Moore
3 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Newcastle Mayor Gavin Morris told ABC News Australia during a broadcast that early information suggested the driver had been revving the vehicle before losing control and driving sideways into the crowd.
🔮 In the wake of that decision, the rest of the opening acts for Sheeran's U.S. tour announced they would also be withdrawing from the tour.
🔮 The NTSB will investigate the crash.
Also by Jack Moore
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Gaza Israel New Jersey U.S. pro-Palestinian

Subjects

Macklemore PERSON · 11× Sheeran PERSON · 9× U.S. GPE · 5× Israel GPE · 4× Gaza GPE · 3× New Jersey GPE · 3× Jewish NORP · 2× pro-Palestinian NORP · 2× Ed Sheeran PERSON · 1× Philadelphia ORG · 1×

Narrative

In a statement to ABC News earlier this week, Messina Touring Group, the tour's U.S. promoter, said, "As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-20
🔮 In the wake of that decision, the rest of the opening acts for Sheeran's U.S. tour announced they would also be withdrawing from the tour.

Claims (21 extracted, 0 hedged)

Ed Sheeran opened his concert in Philadelphia on Saturday apologizing to fans for "making mistakes" after his tour was thrust into controversy earlier this week and saying the situation in Gaza is "catastrophic and unjustifiable." asserted
situation → open → Gaza
The English superstar's comments come after opening act Macklemore was dropped from the U.S. tour over pro-Palestinian comments he made from the stage at an earlier show in New Jersey. asserted
he → come → Jersey
In the wake of that decision, the rest of the opening acts for Sheeran's U.S. tour announced they would also be withdrawing from the tour. asserted
they → announce → tour
In his remarks to the audience at Lincoln Financial Field, Sheeran said he has had to make difficult decisions in the past week and said, "I am making mistakes and I'm so, so sorry." asserted
I → say → mistakes
Sheeran said he has traditionally stayed out of politics. asserted
he → say → politics
"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," he said. asserted
he → want → planet
Addressing the Israel-Hamas war, Sheeran began by referencing the massacre at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7, 2023. asserted
Sheeran → address → Oct.
What happened in Israel at the Nova Music Festival on Oct. 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain," Sheeran said. asserted
Sheeran → 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 the loss of civilians' lives, of children's lives. asserted
heart → break → lives
" The controversy began unfolding earlier this week when Macklemore announced on Monday he had been dropped from Sheeran's tour after making pro-Palestinian comments on stage at MetLife Stadium earlier this month, which the rapper also posted to social media. asserted
rapper → unfold → media
In a video from the New Jersey show posted to his Instagram account, Macklemore says, "One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour, was because I wanted to stand up here on stages and stadiums across America, and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart. asserted
that → post → heart
I said Free Palestine." asserted
I → say → Palestine
Macklemore also said, "To all of my Jewish brothers and sisters, criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, in no way is a criticism of you," in the lead-up to his song "Hind's Hall." asserted
Macklemore → say → song
The music video features clips from Gaza and U.S. student protests. asserted
video → feature → Gaza
In a social media post earlier this week responding to Macklemore's post, Sheeran said the decision to drop Macklemore from the tour was his promoter's decision. asserted
decision → respond → tour
"Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter's decision, it was not mine," Sheeran said. asserted
Sheeran → come → tour
Sheeran also said he was "appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine" and said after his New Jersey shows that upcoming venues "communicated that they would pull the shows" if Macklemore remained as the supporting act. asserted
Macklemore → say → act
In a statement to ABC News earlier this week, Messina Touring Group, the tour's U.S. promoter, said, "As the concert promoter for Ed Sheeran’s U.S. Loop Tour, we have been notified by venues on the upcoming U.S. tour dates that they will not allow a concert to take place with Macklemore on the lineup, which would result in the cancellation of the tour and impact hundreds of thousands of fans. asserted
which → say → fans
After discussions with stakeholders, Macklemore will not be performing on the remaining support dates." asserted
Macklemore → perform → dates
ABC News' Mason Leib and Brianna Sanchez contributed to this report. asserted
Leib → contribute → report
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