Ed Sheeran broke down on stage in Philadelphia on Saturday night, telling fans that friends and family had abandoned him during the fallout from dropping Macklemore from his tour.
The “Shape of You” singer, 35, sat cross-legged on the Lincoln Financial Field stage and cried as he described what he called one of the worst weeks of his life. All his opening acts had quit in solidarity with Macklemore, 43, after the rapper was removed from the Loop Tour over pro-Palestine comments he made at a previous show. Even Sheeran’s own backing band walked away.
“In these situations you really find out who your friends are. It’s been a weird week,” he told the crowd in fan-captured video. “It happened very quickly. At the same time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour and so many people I’ve known for years and years and years they’re kind of backing away.”
The Grammy-winner said he felt completely isolated as pressure mounted from multiple directions. “Everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me,” he continued. “I look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me. People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this.”
Despite the emotional weight, Sheeran called the Philadelphia concert the best show of his life. He admitted he had initially feared for his physical safety, taking the unusual step of removing his B stage from the set. “I apologize that today is not the usual Loop show,” he told fans. “I took the B stage out because was afraid of what might happen if I stood in the middle. And I will admit that.”
The security fears proved unfounded. “The world is a scary place right now, America is a scary place right now,” he said, pointing to the audience. “This gives hope.”
The family rift became public when Sheeran’s cousin Jethro Sheeran blasted him on Instagram Thursday. “Finally it’s all coming out! I’m ashamed of my cousin Ed he’s done. Finally the world and all his fans see through him. He’s not a good person, I don’t like his music so I can’t say he’s even a good artist,” Jethro posted. He added: “He’s honestly a selfish individual with malicious, cunning ways… I’m his first blood cousin and he screwed me over, made fun of my mental health and mental health in general.”
Jethro rejected Macklemore’s claim that stadium owners had pressured Ed into the decision, writing that his cousin acted alone. “In my opinion he’s a bad human. Just my opinion from my experiences,” he wrote, calling Sheeran “shady” and a “coward.”
Macklemore had previously stated that Sheeran was forced into dropping him by venue owners, including Robert Kraft, 85, whose Kraft Group controls multiple stadiums on the tour route. Kraft, who also owns the New England Patriots, had refused to let the “Thrift Shop” rapper perform at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts after Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” speech at an earlier show.
The rapper responded by donating the full $1 million he said he earned from the Loop Tour before his removal to Palestinian relief efforts. He publicly called on Kraft to match the donation.
Kraft ultimately donated $2 million, stating that Sheeran had asked him to contribute. In a statement about the gift, Kraft insisted he’s dedicated his life to trying to help people come together and believes that “all lives are worth protecting.”
Sheeran’s next scheduled performances are Sept. 25 and Sept. 26 at Kraft’s Gillette Stadium.