Ed Sheeran Breaks His Political Silence as LOOP Tour Collapses

After removing Macklemore and watching his remaining openers and backing band walk away, the British singer finally stated his position on Israel and Palestine from a Philadelphia stage.

Ed Sheeran’s long-cultivated neutrality collapsed in real time over the past week. After removing Macklemore as tour opener over pro-Palestinian remarks, the singer watched the rest of his support acts and backing band Beoga quit the LOOP Tour in protest. On Tuesday night, he resumed the tour at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field with no openers and a two-hour delay.

Then he read a speech from a teleprompter.

That speech, later posted to his social media, marked a departure from Sheeran’s decade-long refusal to comment on political issues. He told the crowd he had never wanted to be an activist musician but that the week’s events had forced him into an important and passionate argument about