Watch Ed Sheeran’s concert statement in full as singer admits ‘mistakes’ over Macklemore tour row

Ed Sheeran calls Israel's treatment of Gazans 'unjustifiable,' apologizes for Macklemore controversy

PHILADELPHIA — Pop star Ed Sheeran apologized 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, the British singer 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. The pop star's opening statement on Saturday offered a stark change from his statement

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