Ed Sheeran Calls Gaza 'Unjustifiable' After Macklemore Tour Removal — SkimNews
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- Ed Sheeran opened a solo concert in Philadelphia with comments on Gaza, describing the situation as "catastrophic and unjustifiable"
- The Philadelphia date was Sheeran's first show since his tour was plunged into turmoil over the Macklemore controversy
- Macklemore was removed from the tour after shouting "free Palestine" during a concert, according to the source
- Sheeran has faced boycott calls since Macklemore's removal from the lineup
- Pitchfork's headline highlights Sheeran "again blames venues" for kicking Macklemore off — an accountability angle the dominant framing of his Gaza remarks largely sidesteps
Why it matters: By speaking on Gaza on the very next stop of his own tour, Sheeran is wading back into the controversy that just cost his tour a co-headliner, effectively daring the boycott pressure to escalate rather than recede. The cross-coverage split is telling: the Guardian and NYT lead with his Gaza remarks, while Pitchfork's headline foregrounds his finger-pointing at venues — revealing that 'standing up for Palestine' and 'passing the buck to promoters' are two distinct narratives wrapped around the same incident.
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