PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Ed Sheeran opened a concert Saturday with comments about Gaza after controversy swirled around his tour and supporting acts withdrew in solidarity with opener Macklemore, who was dropped after making pro-Palestinian comments onstage.
\n\nSheeran began the concert alone on stage with no opener, but was joined by other musicians later in the show.
\n\nSheeran said he wants his music and shows to be about unity and humanity, not politics. But he said the attacks in Israel of Oct. 7, 2023, were horrific and what is happening in Gaza “catastrophic and unjustifiable.”
\n\n“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,” Sheeran said during his performance at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
\n\nThe comments before a nearly full stadium came after a tumultuous week that began with rapper Macklemore, Sheeran’s original U.S. opener, being dropped in response to exclaiming “Free Palestine” during a Sept. 5 show in New Jersey.
\n\nSheeran has said he was not responsible for the decision, which came at the urging of…
Original source: https://www.breitbart.com/latin-america/
