Ed Sheeran calls Gaza 'catastrophic' after Macklemore dropped from his tour

Ed Sheeran addressed the removal of Macklemore from his tour on stage at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday, calling the situation in Gaza "catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate".

"My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilian lives, of children's lives," he told the crowd. He also said what happened on 7 October "was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain".

How this started

Macklemore said "Free Palestine" during a set at MetLife Stadium on 5 September. He was then dropped from the tour.

Sheeran said the decision was made by Messina Touring Group, the tour promoter. New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft pushed for the removal after the comment.

Three other acts left in response: Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Finneas.

The money

Macklemore announced a $1 million donation to Palestinian relief and called on Kraft to match it. A spokesperson for Kraft said Kraft and Sheeran had each agreed to give $2 million.

That is $5 million pledged in total. At this morning's rate of Rs 278.63 to the dollar, the three pledges come to roughly Rs 1.39 billion, with Macklemore's own at about Rs 278.6 million and each of the $2 million commitments at about Rs 557.3 million. Our currency converter and the dollar rate page carry the live conversion.

None of the three has published a recipient organisation.

Outside the stadium

Around 50 pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at the venue on Saturday with signs and chants directed at both Sheeran and the concert itself.

Why this is being watched from Pakistan

Gaza has driven consumer boycotts across Pakistan for two years, and this is the same argument in a different setting: whether an artist who says something about Palestine loses the stage, and who gets to make that call.

The structure is worth noticing. Sheeran, the headline act, did not remove Macklemore. A promoter did, under pressure from a stadium owner. In the touring business the venue and the promoter hold the commercial leverage, not the musician whose name is on the poster. That is the same dynamic Pakistani artists run into with sponsors and festival backers, on a much larger budget.

Sheeran has played Pakistan-adjacent markets in the Gulf and has a substantial listenership here through streaming. His tour does not have a Pakistan date announced.