Ed Sheeran broke down in tears Saturday night, opening his Philadelphia show with a teary apology to fans after a week that saw his entire opening lineup walk off his Loop Tour amid other setbacks. The Lincoln Financial Field concert was pushed back from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. as the fallout continued to unfold.
“I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes,” Sheeran told the crowd. “I’m so, so sorry. I don’t want to disappoint fans.” He said he’d wanted his shows to be about “unity, not division,” before addressing the controversy directly for the first time: “This is a humanitarian issue. I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore.”
The chaos began when Macklemore was dropped as Sheeran’s support act after making pro-Palestinian remarks onstage. Macklemore later said Sheeran told him that Robert Kraft, the Kraft Group CEO who owns Gillette Stadium, had personally called to bar him from performing at the venue. Sheeran maintained the call was the promoter’s decision and that he wouldn’t be drawn into public debate over the war, before Aaron Rowe, Beoga, Lukas Graham and Finneas all withdrew from the tour in the days that followed.
As backlash grew, Macklemore pledged to donate $1 million from his earnings on the tour to organizations aiding Palestinians and challenged Kraft to match it. Both Kraft and Sheeran responded by each pledging $2 million of their own toward humanitarian relief.
The tension spilled outside the venue Saturday, where protesters gathered holding “Free Palestine” signs and chanting for a ceasefire, according to TMZ. Sheeran told the crowd that performing solo, without his openers, was still “completely central to who I am” and part of honoring his commitment to fans.
He’s next scheduled to perform Sept. 25, at Gillette Stadium, the venue Kraft owns.