When Ed Sheeran announced he was leaving his beloved Suffolk home to live in America for the duration of his US tour, at the heart of his decision was ensuring he wouldn’t miss a bedtime story with his two young daughters.
asserted
he → announce → daughters
For the singer, the very idea of being thousands of miles away from Lyra, six, and Jupiter, four, was unbearable, say friends.
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friends → say → Lyra
So he set about relocating them, with his wife Cherry Seaborn, to Nashville, Tennessee, enabling him to travel across the continent performing to sold-out venues while racing back to them afterwards on a private jet.
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he → set → jet
The weekend dates for his shows were carefully choreographed, spaced a week apart to ensure he could carry out Daddy duties while performing in cities as widespread as Boston, Los Angeles and Atlanta.
uncertain
he → choreograph → Boston
After years of enduring the pressures of relentless touring, it seemed the perfect solution.
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it → endure → touring
Little did he know when he first hatched his plan, just how much he would need his wife and children.
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he → know → wife
And never more so than Saturday night, when he arrived back at their rented mansion hours after breaking down on stage in Philadelphia when he shared his torment of the previous five days with fans.
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he → arrive → fans
In an emotional speech, he’d told the crowd how he’d been abandoned by friends and family after failing to back his support act singer Macklemore who used his slot to deliver pro-Palestine speeches.
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who → tell → speeches
‘I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandoned me,’ he said.
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he → feel → me
He added that he had made ‘mistakes’ in how he handled the fallout and wasn’t sure if the tour would continue.
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tour → add → fallout
Ed Sheeran in tears during his concert in Philadelphia, when he told the crowd he’d been abandoned by friends and family after failing to back his support act Macklemore
The singer and his wife Cherry Seaborn at the BRIT Awards together in 2022
‘Back then, the idea [of relocating the family] was simply that he would be able to see his kids and Cherry most days,’ says a source close to the singer.
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source → tell → singer
‘Ed had no idea this would happen, but what a relief they are in the States because right now Cherry and the girls are the only things that put a smile on his face.
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that → have → face
It is his sanctuary and has been so much more valuable than either of them could ever have expected.
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either → expect → them
‘The Philadelphia gig was the hardest of his life and this is the biggest challenge he’s ever faced.
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he → face → life
But there’s one thing that kept him going – the thought that his lovely little family would be there when he got back to Nashville and he’d be back in the arms of those who love him.
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who → ’ → him
Friends of Sheeran, 35, have been deeply concerned for his wellbeing since last week when billionaire businessman Robert Kraft, a personal friend at whose 2022 wedding he performed, banned Macklemore from performing at his Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
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he → perform → Foxborough
Kraft, 85, who is Jewish, accused the US rapper of hate speech during two previous support slots, where he called for ‘Free Palestine’ on stage and made other comments and showed images of Gaza.
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he → accuse → Gaza
Macklemore performed a song dedicated to pro-Palestinian protesters, and referred to ‘genocide’ in Gaza, a description Israel rejects.
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Israel → perform → Gaza
He also said criticism of Israel was not intended as criticism of ‘my Jewish brothers and sisters’.
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criticism → say → brothers
Macklemore was removed from the tour last Monday, sparking a further backlash that included Sheeran’s other support acts dropping out in protest.
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acts → remove → protest
Since then, other celebrities have added their voices to the fray.
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celebrities → add → fray
TV chef and former Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussain has shared a video with her one million Instagram followers accusing Sheeran of shedding ‘white tears’ and making himself ‘the victim’ in the row.
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himself → share → row
In the video British therapist Megan Cooper said: ‘If the tears of Palestinians and black, brown and indigenous communities carried as much gravity, genocide would not happen.’
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genocide → say → gravity
Welsh singer Charlotte Church has also hit out, telling fans at a show in Cardiff on Sunday that he was putting money ahead of doing the ‘right thing’.
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he → hit → thing
‘Whilst he has made millions and has an enormous following, he has an enormous platform to do real good in the world.
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he → make → world
He chose consumerism and capitalism over doing the right thing,’ Church said.
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Church → choose → thing
‘So we say the same thing to Ed Sheeran because f*** the fact [he says] that musicians shouldn’t be involved in politics.
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musicians → say → politics
She then added: ‘Ed Sheeran, we’re watching you,’ repeating the phrase with her band at least four times before leading the audience in chants of ‘Free Palestine’.
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we → add → Palestine
Friends of Sheeran were quick to hit back at both women, saying of Nadia: ‘Hasn’t she got anything better to do?’ and adding of Charlotte: ‘She’s just cross.
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She → hit → Charlotte
But, make no mistake, the saga has left Sheeran ‘in bits’.
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saga → make → bits
One friend tells me: ‘It is something he will never get over.
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he → tell → me
‘Ed is a people-pleaser, he tries to keep politics out of his singing but this has hit him like a train
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this → try → train
Although, I’m told, his parents Imogen and John have been ‘propping him up’ as has his brother Matt, a classically trained composer, Sheeran is said to be ‘absolutely furious’ that his estranged cousin Jethro has joined the online pile-on.
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cousin → tell → on
Writing under his artist handle Alonestar, the rapper from Bristol dubbed Sheeran a ‘bad human’ and said: ‘I’m ashamed of my cousin Ed.
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I → write → cousin
He’s a coward.’
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He → ’ → ?
It was Jethro, I understand, whom the singer was referring to when he cited being abandoned by his family in his onstage meltdown.
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he → understand → meltdown
‘Jethro has been a very difficult issue in the family for quite some time and a bit of a thorn in Ed’s side,’ a source tells me.
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source → tell → me
‘He seems to throw stones at Ed whenever he gets the chance and has made all sorts of wild allegations over the years.
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he → seem → years
The truth is he’s just jealous and disgruntled.’
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he → ’ → ?
The repercussions appear far from over yet.
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repercussions → appear → ?
…and 44 more, not listed.
The Aporia
