While the star said he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine” and that the “suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy”, he also attempted to explain his decision to keep political issues at arm’s length.
“I am not complicit,” he wrote. “I have my personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly, it doesn’t mean I don’t have them, and it doesn’t mean I don’t care.
“Nor does it mean I don’t support causes in my own, personal way.”
He continued: “There is a reason 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. I respect Macklemore’s strength of purpose to stand up and shout for what he believes.
“However, there is room for multiple approaches to the same end: Peace.
“I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed. If we only focus on shouting the loudest, nothing will ever change. There are different approaches to being an advocate for change.”
Sheeran added that, “as with all my support acts”, Macklemore had been allowed to choose his own setlist.
If the statement was meant to placate his fans and other artists on the line-up, it has seemingly had the opposite effect.
Writing on Instagram, Lukas Graham said: “We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up. Wherever they live. Whatever flag flies over them.”
Rowe, who opened on the Australian leg of the tour earlier this year and resumed as a support act for the US in June, said he did not “take the decision [to quit] lightly”, adding: “Ed has been a friend to me and has changed my life, I could never thank him enough for this.”
In their post, Beoga said: “As musicians, playing to those crowds every night is the stuff of dreams but to play in venues that silence anyone advocating for a Free Palestine is simply not an option for us.”
