Ed Sheeran says friends and family ‘ABANDONED’ him

Pic: AP

Ed Sheeran has been in the headines since moving ahead with his Loop Tour at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday night amid much controversy following the removal of rapper Macklemore.

The controversy has since seen all of Sheeran’s scheduled opening acts, as well as his touring band, withdraw from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.

Ed Sheeran on feeling 'abandoned' by family

Speaking to the 50,000-strong crowd, Sheeran was seen getting rather emotional and breaking down several times while addressing the audience. During the candid chat with the crowd, the actor said the past week had made him reassess some of his closest relationships after his members of his family and friends' cricle 'abandoned' him.In a video captured by a fan, the singer said, "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,” he continued as the crowd cheered.

"Everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me."

Ed Sheeran's cousin claims singer is 'not a good person'

Although the singer did not identify which family members he was referring to, fans noted that his cousin, Jethro Sheeran publicly criticised him on social media amid the fallout. Jethro wrote, "Finally it’s all coming out! I’m ashamed of my cousin Ed he’s done. Finally the world and all his fans see through him.

He’s not a good person, I don’t like his music so I can’t say he’s even a good artist."He also wrote, "He’s honestly a selfish individual with malicious, cunning ways… I’m his first blood cousin and he screwed me over, made fun of my mental health and mental health in general."

Ed Sheeran gets emotional as fans show him their support

Despite the backlash, Sheeran said he chose to continue performing for his fans. “I look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me,” he told the audience.

“People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this.”Sheeran also acknowledged that he changed the stage layout. Explaining the reason for the same was owing to security concerns, he said, "I apologize that today is not the usual Loop show. I took the B stage out because was afraid of what might happen if I stood in the middle. And I will admit that."

Ed Sheeran calls solo gig his 'best show'

Sheeran described the Philadelphia concert as the “best show” of his life, while calling the preceding week one of the worst he had experienced.

He later broke down in tears while speaking about the support he received from the audience, admitting that he had initially been concerned about how the crowd would react."The world is a scary place right now, America is a scary place right now," he said, before pointing towards the audience and adding, "This gives hope."The emotional concert came amid continuing fallout over Macklemore’s removal from the Loop Tour. Sheeran previously said that the decision to drop the rapper as one of his opening acts, was not his and that he had attempted to mediate between the rapper, promoters and venues. The controversy intensified after Macklemore was removed following pro-Palestinian comments made during his performances, prompting Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Beoga to withdraw from the tour.Sheeran’s next scheduled performances are on September 25 and 26 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.