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Ed Sheeran thanked Tampa fans for their support as he prepared to take his tour to South America – amid continued backlash over Macklemore's dismissal for his on-stage, pro-Palestine comments.
On Saturday, Sheeran, 35, thanked his audience at Tampa, Florida for their support with video of him taking multiple bows before a cheering crowd.
'Thank you Tampa, thats(sic) the end of the North American stadium tour, see you soon Chile, Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico x,' he captioned the post.
Sheeran has one more performance scheduled in the United States – a show on November 9th in Yellow Springs, Ohio – before he takes off for Chile.
The tour will take Sheeran to Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil before it ends in Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes in Mexico City on December 11.
It comes weeks after Sheeran and his tour were plunged into controversy after rapper Macklemore was dropped as an opener over pro-Palestine comments he made during support slots at Sheeran's New Jersey shows.
Ed Sheeran announced his tour is now headed to South America as he thanked Tampa fans for all their support. (Source: Ed Sheeran/Instagram)
Sheeran has been embroiled in backlash after his opener Macklemore was dropped by the tour for pro-Palestine comments made on stage
Macklemore was removed from Sheeran's tour after US stadium owner Robert Kraft accused him of hate speech for comments he made during two performances at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in early September.
Macklemore said on stage that every human being deserves the same freedom, and told the crowd he wanted people in Gaza and the occupied West Bank to know they had not been forgotten.
He then performed his protest song Hind's Hall while images of the devastation in Gaza were projected on the big screens at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Kraft subsequently banned him from performing at the Gillette Stadium near Boston, which is owned by his holding company, leading to his departure from Sheeran's tour.
After Macklemore was dropped, all of Ed's opening acts – Finneas, Lukas Graham and Aaron Rowe, as well as his backing band Beoga – announced they would be leaving the tour in solidarity with the rapper and Palestine.
Sheeran continued to receive backlash and apologized while performing in Philadelphia on September 19 and said he had made ‘mistakes’ in how he handled the fallout.
'This has put me in the middle of an important, passionate argument about freedom of speech on the most complex issue on the planet,' he said.
The video showed Sheeran taking multiple bows before his cheering audience. (Source: Ed Sheeran/Instagram
After he was dropped, Macklemore launched a sold-out, three-date concert series benefitting organizations which support 'the Palestinian people and movement. Above, at his London show last week
He added that he 'always' intended for his music to create a 'safe space for everybody.'
'That matters hugely to me,' he told concert attendees on that day.
'Honoring my commitment to my fans is also completely essential to who I am. That is why I'm here tonight, on my own, continuing my own tour.'
He also said he was 'deeply' worried about freedom of speech being encumbered. 'It should never happen in the free world.'
Sheeran also said: '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, of children's lives, and the systemic injustice we're seeing unfold in the West Bank cannot be overlooked.'
The tour, held in Dublin, Paris, and London, quickly sold-out. (Source: Macklemore/Instagram)
In response to the dismissal, Macklemore announced a Free Palestine tour benefitting organizations which support 'the Palestinian people and movement.'
The three-date tour, consisting of shows in Dublin, Paris and London, quickly sold-out.
'The Free Palestine Tour is my favorite thing I’ve ever been a part of,' he recently wrote on Instagram.
'I am still overwhelmed with gratitude and awe for every musician who stepped on stage in London. Every speaker. Every person who chose to be there.
'We live in an era where advocating for Palestinian life and freedom is controversial. Where saying that Palestine should be free, that Palestinians deserve the same dignity, safety and rights as everyone else, can come at a cost.
'The tour served as a reaffirmation that when we collectively use our voices, our stages and our platforms to stand for the freedom of others, something profound happens. And the crowd is just as much a part of that as the artists. We all are.
'When we move beyond the fear of “how will this affect my career?” and center collective liberation, something shifts. Love is found.'
English (US) ·