Ed Sheeran took to the stage in New York City last month to perform a high-profile charity concert, stepping back into the spotlight at the very height of the intense public drama surrounding rapper Macklemore and pro-Palestine commentary that upended his touring schedule.
The "Thinking Out Loud" singer, 35, dominated international headlines in September when rapper Macklemore was dropped as a support act from his Loop tour. The dismissal came following pro-Palestine comments Macklemore made during his opening slots at Ed’s concerts in New Jersey. The decision to remove the rapper sparked an immediate and cascading crisis for the tour. Following Macklemore’s removal, all of Ed’s remaining opening acts—including Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe—alongside his backing band Beoga, announced they would be leaving the tour in solidarity with the rapper and Palestine.
Despite weathering the severe operational and reputational drama, the philanthropic star pressed on with his commitments, attending a major charity event thrown in New York City in honour of Ipswich Town Chairman and CEO Mark Ashton’s Lentonbrook Foundation, which was hosted by former Ipswich Town captain Matt Holland. The Lentonbrook Foundation supports vital charities and community organisations providing essential resources for underprivileged children and young people across Suffolk, England.
Speaking of the successful fundraising evening, Mark Ashton shared his gratitude and amazement at the outcome. "Raising $1 million in one evening is an incredible achievement, and I’m hugely grateful to Ed, our guests and everyone who helped make it happen," he said.
"While the event took place in New York, Suffolk was at the heart of it. We’re incredibly proud to be bringing significant new funding into the county, with every dollar dedicated to helping children and young people in our communities. There are so many brilliant local organisations doing vital work, and this generosity will help them reach more young people, create new opportunities and make a lasting difference."
The New York charity performance provided a brief respite for the British pop star following weeks of immense pressure. Shortly before the Lentonbrook fundraiser, Ed caused severe ructions when he took to the stage at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia to publicly address and apologise for Macklemore’s dismissal. The move quickly backfired in the court of public opinion among certain commentators, leading critics to accuse him of "bowing to the mob."
At the Philadelphia gig, an emotional Ed addressed the intense backlash directly, telling a stadium crowd of 50,000 fans that the preceding days had been exceptionally difficult. "The last week of my life has been one of the worst weeks of my life," he confessed to the audience.
However, he added that he had been deeply heartened by the loyal fans who turned out to support him through the controversy. "Today has been one of the weirdest days of my life. Tonight has been honestly the best show of my life, the best show," he continued.
"I really didn’t know whether this tour would be carrying on. I really didn’t know whether I’d even be getting on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all. In these situations, you really find out who your friends are, and it’s been a weird week."
The singer faced a wave of criticism after he apologised at the start of the gig by reading a prepared statement from an autocue. By doing so, he backtracked on his previous vow to keep politics entirely out of his musical shows, directly addressing the geopolitical crisis by calling the situation in Gaza "catastrophic and unjustifiable" while simultaneously describing Hamas’s October 7 attacks as "horrific."
The decision to read the statement prompted swift reactions from media figures and fans alike. Broadcaster Piers Morgan took to public channels to weigh in on the unfolding situation. "I agree with Ed Sheeran’s overview of the Israel/Hamas war (Oct 7 terrible, Israel response disproportionate) but I wish he hadn’t bowed to the mob and felt forced to say it publicly," Morgan commented. "Especially reading it off an autocue like some bullied puppet. He needs better advisors."
Morgan’s sentiments were echoed by a significant portion of the online commentary. One supporter posted on social media: "His PR people need to be fired. No reason for him to have to speak to that outside of a very small mob of loudmouths. This dude simply wants to play and perform and has done so for years. He’s a bigger idiot than he was last week. What a disgrace to bow to the mob."
Not all commentators shared the harsh assessment of his use of a teleprompter, however. Another social media user defended the singer, arguing that utilizing a prompter did not indicate a lack of genuine concern.
"Ed is a singer. Not a politician. Not a news anchor. He does not spend his life rehearsing talking points on the most loaded conflict on the planet," the comment stated. "Asking him to speak off-the-cuff about Israel and Gaza in front of 50,000 people after a week that blew up his tour is not the same as asking him to sing ‘Castle on the Hill’. Using a teleprompter here is not proof he doesn’t care. It’s proof he was scared of getting the words wrong on something this radioactive. There is a difference."
Other fans expressed sympathy for the difficult position the pop star had been placed in by his touring partners. "He just needs to be strong and say ‘No I’m not getting bullied and dragged in by any side’. He can walk away from this all and still have his music," one user wrote. Another added, "To be fair, he was never going to ‘win’ this regardless. What is shameful is that his ‘guest’ on tour and band threw him under the bus."
Reflecting on stage about his decision to push forward with his concert commitments despite the intense internal and external turmoil, Sheeran revealed that he had nearly walked away from the entire enterprise. He explained that he was ultimately convinced to continue with the tour after witnessing a reassuring uptick in ticket sales and seeing the unwavering loyalty of his audience.
"Everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me—and I look at the end of the week, and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me," he told the crowd in Philadelphia.
