Internationally renowned fence sitter an avid haver of bad tattoos, Edward Sheeran, despite trying to be the most apolitical artist alive, has found himself in the midst of… *GASP* a political controversy? Admittedly, I didn’t even know Ed Sheeran was touring until the news this week, but in case you’ve been living under a nonpartisan rock, I’ll sum it up for you.
On Sept. 4 and 5 at MetLife stadium, while opening for Ed Sheeran, Macklemore said “Free Palestine.” He performed “Hind’s Hall” and in response, the Israeli American Council created a petition urging Ed Sheeran and tour leadership to drop Macklemore. Macklemore later announced that he has been dropped from Sheeran’s remaining U.S. tour dates. Macklemore said Sheeran told him Robert Kraft, a prominent billionaire, owner of Kraft Group, the owner of owner of the New England Patriots Franchise, and also Gillette stadium, objected to him performing at Gillette in Foxborough, Massachusetts and that other stadium owners had joined in an ultimatum (four tour dates total). The next day, Sheeran responded, saying removing Macklemore was not his decision and that promoters and venues had told him they would pull the shows if Macklemore remained on the bill.
He said he spent the week trying to “build bridges.” (Ironic considering all the Palestinian bridges that have been bombed.) That same day, every other remaining supporting act left the tour in solidarity. This includes FINNEAS, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham and Beoga. Beoga is also Sheeran’s Irish backing band, so Sheeran is now entirely alone in his performance endeavors.
Shortly afterward, Sheeran played in Philadelphia without his opening acts or a band and gave the speech that basically detonates the whole “I’m apolitical” argument. Philadelphia ticket prices dropped to around $37, according to the BBC. For that same price, you can get a keffiyeh from KUVRD and still have $1 left over.
In his speech at Lincoln Financial Field, Sheeran said, “I never want to be an activist musician” and he has “tried not to be a political commentator of any kind.” He furthermore wants his shows to be about unity/humanity rather than politics. Not that I think “Shape of You” was ever art, but art is always political. You cannot declare yourself outside politics simply because you don’t want to participate, and ultimately, choosing silence is still a choice with consequences.
Despite how Sheeran loves to canonize himself as a non-political saint, he has supported Ukraine, performed at a concert for Ukraine, signed the open letter criticizing the UK government’s Brexit deal and its implications for touring/free movement, signed the Equality Act letter, advocated for arts/music education for children, participated in the festival connected to poverty/planetary advocacy, has been publicly associated with other political/cultural causes, was seen at a Kneecap concert, AND has appeared on the official State of Israel Instagram.
It, to me, is not political neutrality if he has opinions when it’s politically comfortable to have them and suddenly cowering and discovering neutrality when speaking would cost him something. It’s also not political neutrality if he spoke up for white Europeans and suddenly has “no opinion” when brown people are facing far worse. I think this selective solidarity is very telling on how Ed Sheeran is and never will be a neutral figure.
Macklemore has spent roughly the last five years using his platform around humanitarian issues involving Congo, Sudan and Gaza, so his political activism is already part of his public identity, and Sheeran’s team is highly resourced. Macklemore’s graphics have to go through production/label/tour infrastructure, so the tour knew what Macklemore was bringing to the stage. To me, the idea that everyone was blindsided by Macklemore suddenly becoming political is laughable; they knew who they hired.
This is where Robert Kraft enters the conversation. He’s so old, he predates Israel, dust, and Mitch McConnell. Kraft is also the stadium owner whose pressure became central to the controversy. Macklemore claimed Kraft rallied other stadium owners against him. Kraft subsequently confirmed that he opposed Macklemore performing at Gillette and cited Macklemore’s comments and broader political ideology as reasoning. Sheeran said venues ultimately made the decision as if he had no say in it.
Kraft was also charged in 2019 with two misdemeanor clearly, he is just a cool, normal, chill, reputable guy, and we should treat him as the moral authority over which musicians are allowed to speak. and we should treat him as the moral authority over which musicians are allowed to speak.
Ed Sheeran was in a multiple-choice question dilemma: A. Keep Macklemore but lose a few stadium dates, or B. Drop Macklemore but preserve the tour. Even if Sheeran did not personally issue the firing order, I argue that he accepted the outcome rather than using his leverage to fight it. He has wealth inconceivably massive to the general public, equally large fame, audience, industry power, and a tour large enough to put stadium owners in a position where they are negotiating with him. So why didn’t he call Kraft’s bluff? If he wanted to pull the stadium, let him, and Sheeran could have walked away from the four stadium owners that were reportedly threatening the tour.
Even if Sheeran didn’t want to say “Free Palestine,” he could have protested that his opener is being removed because he is being denied freedom of speech without having to declare himself a geopolitical activist. It’s become clear to me in my research that Ed Sheeran has the eyes of a donkey and the political positioning to match: one eye is on Israel, the other desperately searching for the middle ground.
Beoga, Sheeran’s long-time Irish folk backing band, explicitly framed their departure around Palestine. Ireland’s experience of British colonialism, occupation, and violence informs Irish solidarity with Palestine. Irish people have a historical framework through which they understand Palestinian oppression.
Ed has a borderline cosplay relationship with Irish identity. He’s English. No more Irish than I am, but wrote “Galway Girl,” “Nancy Mulligan,” constantly cites Irish cultural references, and describes himself as “culturally Irish.”
His commodification of Irish identity but lack of solidarity screams to me that he wants their rhythm but not their blues. He wants the fiddle, the pub, the girl, the folk band, the romanticized identity, but when actual Irish people bring the historical memory that comes with culture onto his stage, suddenly Ireland is ruining the vibe.
Macklemore and Ed Sheeran have had a nearly 14-year relationship. Together, they wrote “Growing Up.” The intimacy of the song and its subject matter make me tear up. Then, of all the people Sheeran could have chosen to disappoint in this situation, he chose Macklemore. It is honestly shocking to me that Sheeran did not choose his friend over an ultimatum issued by a group of millionaires trying to control the narrative.
I need to clearly reject describing the occupation of The West Bank merely as “a conflict”, “the war”, or “both sides.” Those words imply a symmetry that I do not believe exists, because it is a genocide. If you’ve made it this far, I know I don’t need to explain Palestinian civilian deaths, destruction, deprivation of essential goods, dignity, and the role of Israel and U.S. support. When Sheeran says he is looking at both sides, my question is which side is he still looking at when Palestinians are being deprived of life? At some point, looking both ways stops being nuance and starts being refusal to look directly at what is in front of you.
With Macklemore, FINNEAS, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and Beoga gone, Sheeran is suddenly alone onstage in Philadelphia. He cries, addresses Israel, Jewish suffering, unity, his “mistakes,” and not wanting to be an “activist musician.” He is clearly speaking from the heart. And by heart, I mean teleprompter. It’s a well Kraft-ed script. I don’t think Sheeran was crying for the people of Gaza. I think he was crying because he finally realized he was unlikeable.
It reminded me of those moments when predators cry in front of Chris Hansen. They’re not crying because they suddenly discovered what they did was wrong; they’re crying because they got caught. Sheeran’s crying happened after he fired Macklemore, after the other artists walked, after his responsibilities became unavoidable, and his ego took a hit.
More broadly this is about money and control: the political importance of Israel to American foreign policy, and the way that political infrastructure filters down into culture, then the role of wealthy American institutions in deciding what gets platformed. I find myself thinking about this quote from Joe Biden in 1986: “It’s about time we stop apologising for our support for Israel. There is no apology to be made. None. It is the best $3 billion investment we make. Were there not an Israel, the United States of America would have to invent an Israel to protect her interests in the region.” I don’t think this controversy can be separated from the larger political relationship between the United States and Israel.
Sheeran said, “I never want to be an activist musician.” Now, he has made a public statement that addressed Israel, hardly apologized for how he handled Macklemore, and sort of mentioned the censorship of artists. And that, to me, is the entire problem. Ed Sheeran didn’t have to become Macklemore. In my opinion, he did have to decide whether a billionaire’s threat to his tour was more important than the political speech that triggered it.
You can keep looking both ways with those donkey eyes, Sheeran. The rest of us can still see exactly where you’re standing. You’ve gone from selling out stadiums to just plain selling out.