Ed Sheeran changed the shape of his stage over fears “angry” gig-goers would throw things at him.
The 35-year-old pop star has been mired in controversy after dropping support act Macklemore from the US leg of his Loop Tour after the rapper publicly showed his support for the people of Palestine – and Ed has now revealed he decided against using a secondary stage to bring him closer to fans during his gig in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Saturday night (19.09.26) because he was worried the crowd would be “angry” with him.
Speaking during the show, he explained: “At this point in the show, I usually go to a B stage and I’m going to be totally honest with you, I didn’t know what this audience would be like.
“‘I didn’t know if I would have things thrown at me. I didn’t know if people would be angry at me, so today is not the usual Loop show. I took the B stage out because I was afraid of what might happen if I stood in the middle. And I will admit that.”
He went on to perform with a new backing band after Irish group Beoga left the tour to show their support for Macklemore.
Ed said of the change: “There are certain songs that just don’t work on the loop pedal. So, when my friends dropped off this show, I was thinking: ‘How am I going to keep the show the same? And how am I going to get musicians to stand on stage with me in a week where no one wants to stand on stage with me?'”
He introduced violinist Alicia Enstrom and added: “I rung up a friend of mine, she’s a superb human and I toured with her all of last year [on the Mathematics Tour] and the one the year before that.
“I said to her: ‘Would you stand on stage with me?’ And she said, yes. I asked her if she knew some musician friends and she said yes, and they’ve had three days to learn these songs.’
“I just want to say before they come onstage, they said yes to being onstage with the knowledge that the world thought I was a certain type of person.
“They said yes with the knowledge that the world may hate them too for standing on stage with me, and I am so grateful for them being here tonight and standing on stage with me in front of you guys.
Ed previously addressed the row at the start of the show and broke down in tears as he addressed the criticism he received.
He said: “I’m used to my music being criticised … This week the criticism was about something much more important … I am making mistakes and I am so so sorry …
“What happened in Israel, and at the Nova music festival on October 7, it was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain.
“What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation, loss of civilians’ lives. Children’s lives. At this systemic injustice, (what) we’re seeing unfolding in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”
Making a rollercoaster motion with his hand, Ed noted the last week had been “like this”. He added: “I’ve had a week of learning.”
Ed – who previously insisted the decision to cut Macklemore from the tour hadn’t been his – appeared to lay the blame at wealthy venue owners.
He said: “I am deeply worried about the idea that venues pre-approved content forms… It should never happen in the free world.”
He then grew tearful as he said: “I am already speaking to people across the spectrum to work out how to make a contribution that helps victims”.
