Devastated Ed Sheeran reveals his own family ‘ABANDONED’ him amid Palestine row as he considered quitting pop career

ED Sheeran claimed his own family has “abandoned” him during his tearful speech to fans at his gig in Philadelphia last night. The singer-songwriter addressed the controversy surrounding the removal of Macklemore from his tour for his pro-Palestine comments, which was followed by the loss of his support acts and house band in solidarity with the rapper. Ed Sheeran told fans at his latest show that he’d been ‘abandoned’ by family Credit: SM/Bav Media He broke down in tears after the worst week of his life Credit: SM/Bav Media Despite calls for fans to boycott the show, as well as for Ed to cancel his Loop Tour altogether, 50,000 people turned out to hear his songs. During a candid moment, Ed sat cross-legged on the stage and admitted it had been the hardest week of his life, before breaking down in tears. Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter Thank you! He told the crowd: “In these situations you really find out who your friends are. It’s been a weird week. It happened very quickly. At the same time, I had so many people telling me to cancel this tour and so many people I’ve known for years and years and years they’re kind of backing away. “In the back of my mind, I saw the ticket sales for this gig and I didn’t see cancellations, I saw people buying tickets for this gig. Everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me. “I look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me. People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this.” The Brit star said the intensity of the scrutiny and backlash over the situation left him questioning if he wanted a career in music altogether. Macklemore’s removal from his tour created a major crisis Credit: Theo Wargo Ed’s wife Cherry has supported him behind the scenes Credit: Getty Images Ed pulled together a new backing band at short notice and they had just three days to learn his back catalogue. He also removed the smaller B-stage he’d performed on at previous shows, which took him into the heart of the crowd. Most read in Showbiz The pop superstar admitted he was afraid people might throw things at him and had been worried for his safety. Having previously said he had no desire to be a political commentator, Ed addressed the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine and delivered a nuanced take. “I’ve had to take, and make, difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes and I’m so, so sorry for them,” he said. “I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet. “I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore. “What happened in Israel and at the Nova music festival on October 7 was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain. “What is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate. “My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, children’s lives. “And the systemic injustice we are seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.” The tour row began when billionaire Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft banned rapper Macklemore from his venue. The Thrift Shop rapper had shouted “Free Palestine” at previous gigs which led Kraft to say he would not “provide a platform for hate speech”. Support acts Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe, Finneas and Ed’s band Boega quit in protest, while Ed insisted the decision had not been made by him and he had tried, but ultimately failed, to find a compromise. Comment now