Ed Sheeran has apologised to fans for making “mistakes” as he opened his first show since Macklemore was dropped from his tour for making pro-Palestinian remarks on stage.
The singer began his concert in Philadelphia by addressing the controversy that has since engulfed the tour and prompted all of his support acts to quit.
“I never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about free speech and the most complex political issue on the planet,” Sheeran said.
He described the 7 October 2023 Hamas-led attacks as “horrific” and called the situation in Gaza “unjustifiable”.
The BBC was at the Philadelphia show, and also heard from concert goers and protesters for their thoughts on the controversy.
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