Ed Sheeran makes shock admission onstage about family amid ongoing fallout

Ed Sheeran had an emotional breakdown onstage during his Philadelphia concert Saturday night as he continues to lose his fan-following and allegedly, his family as well his close friends, over the removal of Macklemore from his Loop Tour.

At one point during the show at Lincoln Financial Field, Sheeran sat down and broke into tears while looking back on "the worst week" of his life that saw all of his opening acts, including his own backing band, exit the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.

“In these situations you really find out who your friends are. It’s been a weird week,” he told the crowd in video captured by a fan. “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.”

Sheeran told the crowd that situations like this reveal who truly stands by you, admitting that many people he's known for years began distancing themselves from him, with some urging him to cancel the tour entirely.

Despite the pressure, he said ticket sales for the show remained strong, which gave him reassurance to continue performing, and evencalled the show one of the best of his career.

“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 started to cheer.

“Everyone’s telling me to cancel and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me. I look at the end of the week and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned me. People will say what they want, but I am doing this for you. I love you. I love this.”

He later cried as he discussed how much love he felt from the audience, admitting he'd initially feared a negative reaction, or even his own safety, ahead of the performance.

“The world is a scary place right now, America is a scary place right now,” he said, before pointing to the audience and noting, “This gives hope.”

As a precaution, Sheeran revealed he skipped a usual portion of his stage setup. “At this point in the show, to be honest, I usually go out on the B stage,” he added.

“I apologise that today is not the usual Loop show,” he continued. “I took the B stage out because was afraid of what might happen if I stood in the middle. And I will admit that.”

While Sheeran didn't specify which family members he was referring to, his cousin, Jethro Sheeran, publicly criticised him earlier in the week, accusing him of mistreating people close to him and suggesting he bears responsibility for Macklemore's removal from the tour, a claim Sheeran has previously denied making himself.

Sheeran's tour continues September 25 and 26 at Kraft's Gillette Stadium.