Ed Sheeran DEFENDED by opening act who pulled out of tour over Macklemore 'Free Palestine' fiasco

Ed Sheeran has found an ally in one of the opening acts that pulled out of his LOOP Tour following backlash over Macklemore's 'Free Palestine' speech.

Irish singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe delivered an impassioned speech of his own that defended Sheeran in a video posted to Instagram on Friday.

The musician's words caught many by surprise, given that he was one of the music artists who quit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.

Macklemore, 43, was cut from the remainder of Sheeran's tour after making pro-Palestinian remarks and chanting 'Free Palestine' during his opening set at MetLife Stadium earlier this month.

Rowe came back and said people should not aim their vitriol at Sheeran, 35, who has been hit with ticket sales humiliation, and that the real person to blame was New England Patriots owner and stadium mogul Robert Kraft.

He said detractors should be directing their public anger at Kraft, 'not f***ing Ed Sheeran, for f***'s sake.'

'I'm gonna be honest. I think you are all focusing on the wrong person here,' Rowe began. 'All I keep hearing is Ed Sheeran this, Ed Sheeran that — when you really should be focusing on the likes of Robert Kraft. You really should be focusing on the Zionist lobbies that are trying to silence the voices of people who are shouting about genocide, the genocide that is happening in Palestine right now by Israel.'

Sheeran posted a letter on Tuesday to address the controversy over Macklemore's removal from the tour, saying it wasn't his decision but the promoter's along with pressure from Kraft, 85, who banned Macklemore from performing at his Gillette Stadium.

Rowe admitted Sheeran's statement 'could have been a lot better.'

'I haven't had a chance to f***ing talk to Ed too much, but I fully believe he knows that was a mistake,' Rowe said, adding that everyone on the tour lineup supported Palestinians.

'Like, if Ed Sheeran was a f***ing Zionist, why would he have all these f***ing people on the f***ing tour?'

Rowe gave a dressing down to his home country of Ireland, other governments, the media and the music industry for their perceived inaction.

He claimed they have 'so much money and so much power that they're able to basically shut down any opinion that they don't agree with.'

'You should be using this opportunity to plaster Robert Kraft's face everywhere, someone who tried to shut down free speech, someone who tried to silence the voices of people who are shouting out genocide,' Rowe continued.

'That’s what you should be using your energy on, not f***ing Ed Sheeran, for f***'s sake.'

Sheeran's concert this Saturday at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field is his first gig since Macklemore was officially booted from the tour on Monday.

The controversy has taken a heavy toll on ticket sales.

Hours before showtime, hundreds of tickets are still available for purchase at significantly reduced prices.

In another humiliating blow, Sheeran changed the start time of his Saturday concert with the assumption being he couldn't find anyone else to open for him.

The concert was originally set to start at 5:30pm with opening acts and Sheeran going on at 8pm.

Now the concert start time has been moved back to 8pm, when Sheeran will take the stage.

The drama started when Macklemore used his opening set to chant 'Free Palestine' and deliver a politically motivated speech.

He was the opening act for Sheeran's LOOP Tour on two consecutive nights, September 4 and September 5, at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium.

Macklemore - real name Benjamin Hammond Haggerty - stated 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.

Macklemore also faced a boycott petition calling for his removal from Sheeran's tour for the blunt and direct language he used onstage.

As seen in fan-taken footage, he wore a keffiyeh at one point during his set.

The Israeli-American Council drew up a petition insisting he should be dropped from the remaining dates of Sheeran's tour.

The Daily Mail has reached out to representatives for Macklemore and Sheeran for comment but has yet to hear back.