Updated

Ed Sheeran faced intense backlash after dropping Macklemore from his Loop Tour following the rapper's onstage remarks in support of Palestine. At his first show since the removal, Saturday, September 19 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Sheeran performed alone (without his usual B-stage), introduced a new backing band that had only three days to learn his material, and delivered an emotional speech calling what is happening in Gaza "catastrophic and unjustifiable" while saying he could no longer hide how he felt. The show also started three hours later than originally scheduled, and ticket prices reportedly dropped by more than 50% amid the fallout. The controversy drew wider reactions: pro-Palestinian protesters marched and chanted outside the venue, opening act Aaron Rowe (who himself quit the tour) urged fans not to direct hate at Sheeran, and commentators like Mark Geragos and Harvey Levin publicly clashed over whether Macklemore or Sheeran was in the wrong. Some ticket holders told the BBC they felt "torn" over whether to attend, reflecting the broader debate the episode sparked about free speech and the Israel-Gaza conflict's reach into pop culture.