Ed Sheeran concert faces planned protest at Robert Kraft's Gillette Stadium after Macklemore exit

Ed Sheeran’s Gillette Stadium concerts are expected to face protests following Macklemore’s tour exit

Ed Sheeran’s upcoming concerts at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, are expected to draw protests following Macklemore’s removal from the singer’s US tour.

According to the supplied report, Massachusetts Peace Action is sponsoring a demonstration near Gillette Stadium on Saturday, September 26, ahead of Sheeran’s second show at the venue. Sheeran is also scheduled to perform at the stadium on Friday.

The organisation reportedly said the demonstration is “centered around the fight against 'billionaire censorship' and 'genocide in Palestine.'”

Protesters also attended Sheeran’s Philadelphia concert over the weekend, according to the report.

Macklemore was removed from the remaining US dates of Sheeran’s tour after his “Free Palestine” speech at MetLife Stadium earlier this month.

Other scheduled performers, including Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga, subsequently withdrew from the tour.

Sheeran addressed the controversy before performing in Philadelphia, telling the audience: “This is not usually how I open a show, but before I play some songs tonight I hope it's OK if I say a few words about this last week.”

He continued, “I'm used to my music being criticized, and I'm always happy to take that because I'm lucky a lot of you like my stuff… But this week the criticism was about something much more important. And I've had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I'm so sorry.”

Sheeran said the dispute had placed him “in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.”

He also expressed concern about venues controlling performers’ content.

“Honoring my commitment to my fans is completely central to who I am, and that is why I'm here tonight on my own and continuing my current tour,” Sheeran said.

“But I am deeply worried about the idea of venues pre-approving content of performers. This happens in so many places I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.”

He concluded, “My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians' lives, of children's lives, and the systemic injustice we're seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.”