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Ed Sheeran has experienced a significant drop in his Instagram followers, losing nearly 500,000 amid the controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal from his Loop Tour.
The 35-year-old British singer addressed the issue during his first concert since the backlash, delivering a heartfelt apology to fans while visibly emotional. According to data from Social Blade, Sheeran’s follower count has steadily declined since the announcement.
Before the controversy, Sheeran boasted 47.6 million Instagram followers. However, following Macklemore’s announcement that he was no longer part of the tour, Sheeran’s followers decreased to approximately 47.3 million within just 24 hours.
The number dropped by another 150,000 after Sheeran issued a public statement on September 15. As of now, his follower count stands around 47.2 million.
At his concert in Philadelphia on Saturday, Sheeran addressed a crowd of 50,000, sharing the emotional toll the past week had taken on him. “The last week of my life has been one of the worst weeks of my life,” he admitted, expressing uncertainty about the future of the tour and even his career as an artist. He also spoke candidly about feeling isolated, revealing that those close to him had advised canceling the tour amid the turmoil.
Despite the pressure and feelings of abandonment, Sheeran found solace in the support of his fans. “I saw people buying tickets for this gig,” he said. “And everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me, and I look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me.”