Macklemore was iced out of the tour<\/a>.<\/p>\nBefore he got to singing (not even his backing band remained with him), he addressed the crowd.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn these situations you really find out who your friends are. It\u2019s been a weird week,\u201d Sheeran acknowledged.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt happened very quickly,\u201d he admitted. \u201cAt the same time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour and so many people I\u2019ve known for years and years and years they\u2019re kind of backing away.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
<\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\nIf anyone tells you that ticket sales don\u2019t matter to the megawealthy, just listen to this<\/h2>\n When it came to continuing his tour, Sheeran said, it came down to the numbers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the back of my mind, I saw the ticket sales for this gig and I didn\u2019t see cancellations, I saw people buying tickets for this gig,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone\u2019s telling me to cancel,\u201d Sheeran shared, \u201cand I\u2019m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me.\u201d<\/p>\n
His cousin, Jethro Sheeran, publicly blasted him as a bad person on Thursday, September 17. <\/p>\n
\u201cI look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven\u2019t abandoned me,\u201d Sheeran announced with clear gratitude.<\/p>\nWhatever criticisms of Ed Sheeran\u2019s on-stage statement fans may have, and they have plenty, it\u2019s still better than his \u201cI am not complicit\u201d bulletpoint Instagram statement from days earlier. (Image Credit: Instagram)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThere are still problems with this statement, even if it\u2019s an improvement<\/h2>\n Though Ed Sheeran gave his fans a tribute, he also admitted to taking new security measures \u2014 including not stepping onto the B Stage in light of the controversy.<\/p>\n
(Any <\/em>controversy can be the excuse that someone with violent impulses uses to lash out, but realistically, anyone still attending his concerts at this point is presumably either a diehard fan or someone who got free tickets through work or someone who\u2019d already bought tickets and just decided to go.)<\/p>\nHe did speak about more important things, including that no one \u2014 including stadium owners \u2014 should get to preapprove the content of shows that play in their arenas.<\/p>\n
(As we have previously noted, there may be First Amendment issues with the venues that involve governments in ownership and operation; when it comes to the privately owned arenas, including on owned by Robert Kraft, the actions are morally repugnant but likely legal.)<\/p>\n
More importantly, Sheeran did condemn the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians, including children, in Gaza. That\u2019s progress, up to a point. It didn\u2019t feel like his focus, however.<\/p>\n
At times, his use of passive voice sounded like how newspapers cover police shootings<\/h2>\n Unfortunately, as Matt Bernstein points out in the video<\/a> above, Sheeran calling the ongoing wholesale slaughter, maiming, kidnapping, and torture of Palestinians \u201ccomplex\u201d sort of betrays how little progress he\u2019s made.<\/p>\n\u201cIf you don\u2019t name a perpetrator, Israel, and a cause, Zionism, then no one gets held accountable and nothing changes,\u201d Bernstein accurately pointed out.<\/p>\n
Sheeran reading his statement off of a teleprompter is not necessarily a bad thing. Many people do not feel comfortable speaking on important topics without organizing their thoughts.<\/p>\n
However, in the context of Sheeran\u2019s caution, it feels like he made this statement while walking on eggshells \u2014 even though, as someone with an estimated net worth well into the 9 figures, it is difficult to imagine what he felt that he had to lose.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most troubling element of Sheeran\u2019s statement is that, even after a couple of weeks of controversy, so much of what he said seemed to be aiming for sympathy \u2014 his <\/em>security fears, his <\/em>reassurance about his <\/em>fans, his <\/em>friends and family pulling away from him<\/em>. Kind of like how Pink crashed out<\/a> about her<\/em> fear.<\/p>\nMacklemore was quick to emphasize that none of this is about him. Perhaps Sheeran should ditch the PR consultants and just learn about the plight of the Palestinian people.<\/p>\n
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