Ed Sheeran apologises for Macklemore controversy during concert

British singer Ed Sheeran has apologised on Saturday for his handling of a controversy that erupted this week when rapper Macklemore was removed as an opening act over comments on Palestine.

Breaking his silence on the issue, Sheeran decried Israel's treatment of residents in Gaza as "unjustifiable."

"I've had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I'm so, so sorry," Sheeran told an audience in Philadelphia, where he performed for the first time since Macklemore was taken off the concert tour.

At the start of the concert at Lincoln Financial Field, Sheeran called the October 2023 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 Israelis "horrific".

But he called Israel's subsequent war, which has killed thousands in Gaza and displaced almost all of the population, "catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate".

Sheeran also decried "systemic injustice" in the West Bank, where Israel's right-wing coalition government has allowed a massive expansion of ⁠Jewish settlements.

"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," he said, according to BBC. 

The pop star's opening statement on Saturday offered a stark change from his statements earlier in the week, when Sheeran posted on Instagram that his concert audiences "do not expect a political forum".

Controversy has surrounded Sheeran since Macklemore posted on Instagram that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft had told Sheeran that Macklemore would not be allowed to perform at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where Sheeran has shows on September 25 and 26.

Macklemore said Kraft and other stadium owners had told Sheeran he would not be allowed to perform in their venues if Macklemore remained on the tour after saying "Free Palestine" during a September 4 concert at ​MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The tour's other supporting acts subsequently quit to show solidarity with Macklemore.

Despite acceding to stadium owners' demand for Macklemore's removal, Sheeran on Saturday said he was "deeply worried" about concert venues vetting performers' content.

"This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world," Sheeran said.

Dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered about half a mile from the concert venue ahead of Sheeran's performance.

Organisers said they were there to talk to people about the conditions on the ground in Gaza and to highlight local groups advocating for Palestinians.