Ed Sheeran has lost almost half a million followers on Instagram as the whole controversy surrounding his decision to remain apolytical over Palenstine continues
Ed Sheeran has lost almost half a million followers amid his controversy surrounding Palestine. In recent days, the singer, 35, saw all of his support acts for his current tour drop out of the remaining dates after Macklemore, real name Benjamin Haggerty, was removed from the line-up over comments he made about Gaza.
But Ed, best known for hits like Shape of You and Castle on the Hill, has flat out refused to comment on the situation or make his own political beliefs known and opted to continue with his global jaunt.
The LOOP tour arrived in Philadelphia over the weekend, with Ed making his first concert appearance since the situation kicked off. Before Macklemore’s announcement, Ed’s follower count stood at 47.6million but within 24 hours it had plummeted to 47.3million. On Wednesday, that number had once again fallen to 47.2million.
When he made his return to the stage on Saturday, Ed acknowleged the situation by telling the crowd that it had been “one of the worst weeks of [his] life.”
Becoming visibly emotional, he added: “Today has been one of the weirdest days of my life. Tonight has been honestly the best show of my life, the best show.
“I really didn’t know whether this tour would be carrying on. I really didn’t know whether I’d even be getting on stage again, whether I even wanted to be an artist at all. In these situations, you really find out who your friends are, and it’s been a weird week.”
Though Ed’swife, Cherry, and his parents are standing by him, Sheeran’s cousin Jethro has spoken out against him, saying: “I’m ashamed of my cousin Ed. He’s a coward.”
A source shared with the Mail that the whole situation is something that Ed, who has been accused of being an apolitical singer, “will never get over”. They insisted the backlash “hit him like a train” as he “tries to keep politics out of his singing”.
In his own statement, posted to social media, he said: “I do not use my professional platform for politics – my audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds. Those who come to my shows do not expect a political forum.”
But there have been multiple instances in the past where Sheeran has taken a political stance, using his platform and his music to do so. In March 2022, he publicly backed Ukraine after the Russian invasion and performed at Concert for Ukraine, a charity concert raising money for humanitarian aid in the area.
At the time, he said: “I just wanted to say to all Ukrainians, I love you, I stand with you, and I’m so proud to be playing this fundraising event next week.”
He also took part in the Beautiful Resistance campaign in 2019, which was coordinated by Love Music Hate Racism and aimed to challenge racism in the UK. Two years later, Sheeran signed an open letter to the US Senate, urging them to pass the Equality Act, which would protect LGBTQIA people from discrimination.
Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok , Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: mirror.co.uk
