Ed Sheeran loses 200,000 Instagram followers amid Palestine backlash as Macklemore gains over 1.6million

Ed Sheeran has lost over 200,000 Instagram followers amid the backlash over Macklemore being dropped from his tour. Earlier this week, the ‘Thrift Shop’ rapper made headlines over his impassioned “free Palestine” speech made while opening for Sheeran at New Jersey’s Gillette Stadium. The speech prompted calls for Macklemore’s removal from figures like Pink and the Israeli American Council. Macklemore was then announced to have been dropped from the tour, with Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft later confirming that he found Macklemore’s speech “deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community”, resulting in his dismissal. Sheeran later spoke out about the situation, saying he was “not complicit” and that he was “appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine” and sees the “suffering and pain caused on both sides” as a “tragedy”. In the day since Macklemore announced that he had been dropped from Sheeran’s tour, Sheeran lost 149,636 followers on Instagram, according to data from social media analytics firm Social Blade. He later lost a further 50,000, bringing his count to 47.3 million. During the same 24-hour period, Macklemore gained 750,098 followers on Instagram. Sin...