Ed Sheeran performs during the 2025 TIME100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York.Jemal Countess/Getty Images
Ed Sheeran is pop music’s Mr. Nice Guy: An everyman superstar with a genuine-seeming smile who writes love songs for his wife and is beloved by all – from tween fans to the highest ranks of the A-list.
But no more.
Mr. Sheeran is under fire after the musician Macklemore, one of his supporting acts, was dropped from Mr. Sheeran’s current tour. This came after Macklemore’s sets in New Jersey on Sept. 4 and 5, which featured segments devoted to Palestine, including images of the destruction in Gaza. This prompted complaints, including from some fans who demanded refunds.
The Israeli-American Council launched a petition calling on Mr. Sheeran to drop Macklemore. Ultimately, some venue owners, led by billionaire Jewish philanthropist and NFL team owner Robert Kraft, said Macklemore had to go or the show could not go on.
Mr. Sheeran was backed into a corner. Macklemore was out.
In a social media post Tuesday to his 47 million followers, Mr. Sheeran said the promoter made the decision. He emphasized that his shows are “a place for everyone to feel welcome” and that those who attend “do not expect a political forum.”
Every other opening act on the Loop tour quit. So did Mr. Sheeran’s backing band.
“Money doesn’t give you the right to own the conversation” posted the Danish pop band Lukas Graham. “Nobody’s bank balance should decide who gets to speak or which suffering we’re allowed to acknowledge.”
So here’s the narrative: Macklemore was cut because he supports Palestinians, rich Jews forced Mr. Sheeran’s hand, and the spineless singer caved.
It doesn’t matter that Mr. Sheeran said he is appalled by the human tragedy of the conflict. Or that Mr. Kraft said he agrees with Macklemore that “too many lives have been lost and there has been too much suffering.”
Mr. Kraft also called out Macklemore’s “broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery.” Indeed, one might wonder what Mr. Sheeran was expecting when he booked Macklemore, who has not only been outspoken on Palestine – which should not be an issue – but who in 2014 appeared onstage wearing a huge hooked nose, black wig and beard – sometimes referred to as “Jew Face.”
But in this weird time, that past sin is now acceptable enough that Mr. Sheeran agreed when Macklemore asked to join the tour.
Before Macklemore was dropped, the musician Pink, who is Jewish, weighed in on the controversy, posting an impassioned social media essay questioning the choice to show violent images to music-loving families. “I have never asked for another artist to be silenced and I’m not asking now,” she wrote.
She was, of course, vilified. This is the price of speaking out, even with nuance and compassion, on this issue.
There was recently pressure on Vancouver’s PNE to drop the fair’s closing night act, Boy George. His sin is his recent song, We Will Dance Again, which expresses solidarity with Israel and the victims of the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023. In the song, Boy George, who is not Jewish, calls what has happened in Gaza a war, not a genocide. And he calls out some fellow musicians for “mouthing like sheep / Propaganda fuelled by the internet.” The concert went ahead – and yes, there were protesters. Two days later, Boy George was honoured by the local Jewish community.
This issue is so toxic it can turn public opinion on a dime. Mr. Sheeran, who until this week seemed to be close to universally beloved (people liked the guy even if they didn’t like his music) is suddenly a pariah. There’s little doubt protesters will show up at the remainder of his tour. I imagine there will be demands for refunds as well. And cancellations.
Mr. Sheeran’s mistake was booking Macklemore to begin with. Not because of his anti-Israel stance – he has every right to these opinions, of course – but because the guy who performed in Jew Face is the one who should be considered toxic, period.
Mr. Sheeran, despite all of this, will be fine. So will Pink. And Boy George. And Macklemore. Our concern – after the victims of this conflict, of course – should be for the fledgling artists who happen to be Jewish or Israeli or have expressed concern about the Oct. 7 victims and dare to believe Israel should exist. These artists face the risk of being shunned and cancelled before their careers have a chance to take off. As do many artists who speak out in support of the Palestinians.
We’re tearing each other down with these insignificant fights when the real struggle should be about how to bring peace to the region. Perfect.