Ed Sheeran feared attack at Philadelphia concert

Ed Sheeran typically has two stages in his concerts. The first is the center stage, while the other is placed in the middle of the crowd.

However, at the Philadelphia concert, the Shape of You singer axed it, citing concerns and uncertainty about how the audience would react to him following the Macklemore controversy.

The Grammy-winning singer himself revealed this change to the stage setup during the show.

“I’m going to be totally honest with you: I didn’t know what this audience would be like tonight. I didn’t know if I would have things thrown at me."

“I took the B-stage out because I was afraid of what might happen if I stood in the middle, and I will admit that," he said.

Sheeran's remarks underscore the politically charged environment in the United States, as uproar was sparked after Macklemore was fired from opening for the British singer's opening acts in his U.S. leg of the Loop tour.

In response, remaining performers specifically performed as opening acts in protest.

These moves created an apparent headache for Sheeran, who has to find musicians to fill in the vacant positions.

Alicia Enstrom, the singer's long-time collaborator, chipped in and stitched together a band which had only three days to memorize tracks and then perform.

“They’ve had three days to learn these songs. Three days to learn these songs!” Sheeran shared.

“And I just want to say, before they come on stage: they said yes to being on stage with the knowledge that the world thought I was a certain type of person."

"They said yes with the knowledge that the world may hate them, too, for standing on stage with me. And I am so grateful," Sheeran noted.