Charlotte Church launched a fierce stage attack on Ed Sheeran during a Cardiff performance, branding him a "greedy capitalist" for not supporting rapper Macklemore, whose pro-Palestine comments led to his removal as Sheeran's tour opening act. Church, who identifies as a Palestinian advocate, urged the audience—which included under-18s—to chant "Free Palestine" and told Sheeran "we're watching you" repeatedly. This forms part of an escalating public row over Sheeran's handling of the controversy surrounding his Loop tour of the United States.

The dispute centres on Macklemore's removal from Sheeran's New Jersey shows earlier this month. Sheeran has stated he was attempting to keep politics out of his performances because many children attend, and has insisted the decision to drop Macklemore was made by his promoter rather than himself. He has also broken down in tears on stage twice since supporting acts withdrew in solidarity with Macklemore. The controversy expanded further when television presenter Nadiya Hussain shared a video to her one million Instagram followers analysing Sheeran's emotional response as "white tears"—a political term used to describe situations where a white person's emotional display is seen as deflecting from systemic racism or oppression.