As Ed Sheeran continues to face criticism for Macklemore being dropped from his tour over his on-stage support of Palestine and Gaza, Bono is now weighing in. In a new interview with Rolling Stone UK, the U2 frontman said he didn’t want to “dwell” on the the situation, but noted that Sheeran was hesitant about getting into politics on their own collaboration earlier this year.
Sheeran and U2 collaborated on the song “Yours Eternally,” which features Ukrainian singer Taras Topolia and is written from the perspective of a Ukrainian soldier during the ongoing war with Russia. According to Bono, when the musicians were bringing the song together, Sheeran asked: “You’re not going to get me into politics, are you?”
“And I said, ‘This soldier who inspired us, he loved you Ed and you’ve worked on this song,’” Bono continued.
The singer recalled Sheeran responding, “Yeah, but I just want to keep my thing free.” Bono then conceded that “you can’t be pushing people around,” and cited musician Brian Eno saying “that pop stars are like little fish in a large sea of huge forces and religion and politics.”
Macklemore revealed on social media last month that he was dropped from Sheeran’s tour as a result of saying “Free Palestine” on stage at their concert. The rapper noted that the situation involved some tough conversations with Sheeran, but ultimately, Macklemore blamed stadium owners like Robert Kraft for the decision.
“Last Monday, in the middle of all the media attention surrounding Pink and what I said at MetLife, Ed told me that Robert Kraft called him,” Macklemore shared. “We were scheduled to play Gillette Stadium later this month, which is owned by the Kraft Group. Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium.”
“Ed also told me that Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners, and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: if Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.” Macklemore conceded that Sheeran was in a “f–ked position,” and “couldn’t get past his public-facing ‘I don’t take sides.’”
Since then, Sheeran’s other opening acts have all exited the Loop Tour in solidarity with Macklemore and the Palestinians, while Macklemore’s subsequent pro-Palestine shows have all sold out.
