Ed Sheeran Fans Praise His Philadelphia Concert Remarks on Tour Controversy

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Sep 20, 2026 8:29am PT

At Ed Sheeran’s Philadelphia Concert, Fans Shrug Off ‘Attempted Cancellation’ and Praise His Onstage Remarks: ‘It Brought a Tear to My Eye’

By Anna Tingley

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Anna Tingley

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It’s about 9:30 p.m. at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, roughly an hour after Ed Sheeran delivered a surprisingly lengthy four-minute speech on the controversy that has engulfed his tour since Macklemore was dropped as an opening act following his pro-Palestinian remarks. But if the decision — and, by then, Sheeran’s response to it — has ignited outrage online, there was little of it to be found inside the stadium.

At the top of the show, Sheeran doubled down on the position he took in an online post earlier in the week. “I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so, so sorry,” he said. He went on to say he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine,” describing the suffering caused by the war as a “human tragedy,” while explaining that he has generally sought to keep his concerts focused on “unity, joy, escapism, love” rather than his own political views. At one point later in the show, he wept while making his comments.

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_Originally reported by [Variety Music](https://variety.com/2026/music/news/ed-sheeran-fans-philadelphia-1236870259/)._