Sheeran chose money over solidarity. I can call him whatever i want and he'll never read any of this. His fellow musicians will 100% remember this for the rest of their lives. All people gotta do is stop going to anything he's involved in. Unsubscribe from anything he's involved in. Lets see who he drags down with him and who tells him to get fucked.
this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2026
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What he fails to realize (apparently), is that the moment Macklemore did that, and the stadium owner made him make a choice, he no longer had the luxury of being apolitical. The act of complying is a choice and taking a side. This is especially true for a guy like him who almost certainly has fuck you money and can take the hit.
You could excuse a person who can't afford to lose their livelihood (we are all trying to survive). But him? Boy oh boy did he choose a side.
Yup, this guy did not meet the moment at all by standing up for free speech against rich oligarchs. Maybe he truly believes his "boths sides" BS, lord knows there's plenty out there, but damn when you can't even muster a defense for your friend of 13 years when like you said, he's got fuck you money. That combined with the BS apolitical both sides thing, says a whole ton.
I truly hope he finds out.
Honestly I don't think that's necessarily the case. In some interviews he admits he's a luddite. One time he said he hates social media and emails and it's hard for his staff to get a hold of him. I could 100% believe that his media people bungled this up and he is completely clueless about this and probably all of world politics all while sitting in an ivory tower, strumming out another derivative love song.
He should probably ask around or do some research before publicly both-sidesing a genocide then
Being against genocide is not political, its basic morality and human dignity.
"I am not complicit" is the new "I was just following orders". Neither are credible defenses.
“I am appalled by the conflict between Israel and Palestine,” Sheeran said. “The suffering and pain caused on both sides is a human tragedy. There are too many wars across the world causing immeasurable pain, none of which should be tolerated.”
So his stance is please stop fighting, regardless of who the aggressor is.
I wonder if he also wants the war in Ukraine to end by giving Russia some land.
On both sides? Hiw much pain and suffering has there been on Israel's side lately? The conflict has been extremely one-sided.
I don’t buy it.
There’s no possible way he could be this isolated from the facts of the issue, given Macklemore’s statements about his relationship with Ed.
At some point you either see Palestinians as people, or you see them as less than people.
Those are the only positions that “make sense” in this “conflict”. ‘Please stop fighting’ and ‘both sides’ are essentially just:
“The Palestinians brought this on themselves by not rolling over and submitting to Israel’s apartheid rape state, plus they’re brown, plus my money and success are more important than publicly opposing genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
This take is not a-political, it’s a-moral. “Both sides” is a capitulation to the oppressor. “Both sides” when you’re rich and you have that much influence is criminal negligence.
He’s watching a child drown because he doesn’t want to get his clothes wet.
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This is how so, so, so many of them are... They don't want to talk about "politics".
These people were in Nazi Germany, everyone. And you know what? They never got any blowback, for the most part.
They just said "no thanks" when, at the same time, people were shoved into ovens. No thanks, they aren't political. They don't want to talk about politics.
No thanks. They don't want to pick a side.
See: Zone of Interest
He wouldn't need a sheeran if he wasn't a fucking sheep.
What amazes me is that hidden in a conversation like this is the implication that a billionaire’s feelings being hurt should have any weight on anything.
Hate speech is calls to violence, not someone being upset by your opinion.
It’s the same old culture war bullshit.
The rhetorical framing is careful and deliberate:
If they can reduce any slur to “hurt feelings“, then they can claim “hurt feelings“ to silence your speech, regardless of how ridiculous and insubstantial the claim may be. not only is this a strawman argument and gaslighting, but it very conveniently forces most people to accept the faulty logic without question.
And with that rhetorical trick, they can equate “fuck you fa**ots” with “genocide is bad“ as equally offensive. this is what fascists do. It’s one of the things they are best at: mass manipulation through propaganda.
The same rhetorical trick is used to equate criticism of Israel to “antisemitism“. And that has worked for decades, but not so much not anymore. it turns out that when you call literally everything you don’t like “antisemitism”, it tends to dull the blade a bit.
Beware
Honestly, the critic response in the article is so well-put, I don't have anything to add. Just posting it here in the hopes it's not missed:
Media and cultural critic Kaivan Shroff argued in Zeteo that Sheeran was not actually acting apolitically as he claimed, but rather “letting a pro-Israel billionaire choose his politics for him.”
“Kraft imposed a political condition on his tour, and then Sheeran enforced it,” Shroff wrote. “He did not remain above the dispute; he allowed the billionaire who owned the building to resolve it for him.”
“That is what the language of being ‘apolitical’ conceals,” he continued. “It treats the status quo as neutral and resistance to it as political. Kraft can decide that support for Palestinian freedom is beyond the boundaries of acceptable speech; venue owners can threaten a tour; corporate affiliates can calculate the financial exposure and draw their lines in the sand. None of that is described as activism. Politics supposedly only enters the room when Macklemore says those two words onstage.”
Shroff wrote that the saga demonstrated “how the ultrawealthy exercise political power without accepting political responsibility.”
“They translate an ideological demand into a business necessity, then leave everyone beneath them to describe compliance as unavoidable,” he said. “Kraft did not have to answer Macklemore’s argument about Gaza or persuade an audience that saying ‘Free Palestine’ constituted hate. He could simply threaten the tour instead. Once the money was put in jeopardy, all of a sudden, the unacceptable viewpoint disappeared.”
New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, a billionaire with a long history of donating to pro-Israel causes, took credit for blackballing Macklemore on Monday, describing the rapper’s Palestine tributes as “hate speech.”
It's rich that a billionaire gets to lecture others about morality considering that there are no ethical billionaires.
there's no ethical billionaires
NOW WAIT JUST A MINUTE! Looks like someone forgot about Phil Philbertson
We live in a reality where saying you want people to live and be free is considered hate... Morality and ethics can't come to the phone right now, they're dead.
Turns out that Kraft is also in the Epstein Files, so that's all the more reason why he shouldn't get away with dictating ethics
What's crazy is how everyone wants to blame an aging popstar instead of the billionaire NFL owners who are able to cancel stadium shows at stadiums taxpayers paid for...
Like, everyone involved said it's Bob Kraft who made the decision, but no one reads past a fucking headline.
No one is blaming him, we're calling him a cowardly, unethical, greedy little birch. He could have taken a small financial hit that would have come back and rewarded him with huge public support by simply saying "I don't agree with or support this decision", and fingers could then only be pointed at Kraft.
He decided the money is worth pointing the fingers directly at him, he deserves the attention he's getting. It's crazy that you think we should let it slide.
You're not wrong, but I also don't think anyone expects zionist billionaire bastards to not behave like zionist billionaire bastards. People expected Ed Sheeran to do the right thing, and they were let down by his spinelessness.
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Those 4 words are going to haunt him the rest of his life, rightly so. I hope they define his legacy.
Let them fucking cancel the shows then. Damn Ed, grow a fucking spine.
In an Instagram post, Sheeran confirmed that Kraft had indeed rallied other NFL stadium owners to give an ultimatum that their shows would be canceled unless Macklemore was dropped. Sheeran said the decision ultimately did not belong to him, but to the Messina Touring Group, which is promoting the tour.
Maybe more of us should think about boycotting the NFL.
The decision absolutely belongs to you as long as you're able to physically stop yourself from performing.
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I was informed that this stance was based on how Macklemore conveyed part of his message during his performance, rather than on everything that was said.
This Instagram comment of his bugs me. This is the kind of shit that gets said to silence people. He can't tell you specifically what it is that was wrong, just a general feeling of "how it was conveyed".
Thank God Sheeren was informed of this so he can go on with his life without worrying about doing the right thing.
This is exactly the kind of shit MLK was talking about. That the moderate was worse than the KKK because the moderate says "I agree with your goal but not your methods of direct action." Because he believes he can set a timetable for another man's freedom while they wait for a more convenient time.
That's all paraphrased, the actual quote is much more eloquent.
"First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: 'I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action'; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a 'more convenient season.' Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection."
I very much got "racist gaslighting" vibes
When George Floyd was murdered and people were protesting and using his name as a call to action, there were so many comments I read online that said something like, "I agree with your message in general, but you shouldn't be using George Floyd for this cause he was such a shitty person."
It was some backhanded way of saying, I'm not saying you're wrong, but I also don't want anyyhing to change.
It's a weasle-word-way for the promoter to say "you can't speak out against genocide"
Which is a weasle-word-way to say "you can't speak out".
Which is a weasle-word-way to say "you can't speak".
Ed Sheeran is just too dumb to realize it. That's my read. He's a great performer with a pretty face and not a whole hell of a lot behind it (aside for an uncanny ability to mix 4 chords with words and rhythm).
The role of musicians and celebrities should be to speak out about this type of shit. Fuck. They have the podium, they have the privilege.
The reason why we are in this shit is because promotors/sponsors/owners of, well, everything and everyone, have done a damn good job of convincing everyone that they can't speak.
And then they hand him a microphone, and they have to decide....can they speak? Or do they believe that they can't?
Like tieing up an elephant to a wooden stake.
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At least he can call his next album "Divide 2"
Track list: "Shape of Netanyahu" "Gaza Girl"
A painless and enjoyable way of showing support for Maclemore's stand is to stream Macklemore on your preferred streaming platform all day. If we all do that at least he will get some income and the numbers can help to show the world is on the same anti genocidal wavelength
"I'm not complicit in trying to take political pressure off Israel so they could continue their genocide".
Oh but you are Ed, you absolutely are. Just as Israel has killed people for speaking out about what they're doing - so you tried to help what they're doing.
You are totally complicit in trying to make it easier for them, by trying to ease their PR, their freedom from pressure to do otherwise.
P.S If you scroll the Jordan Peterson sub on Reddit you can find the pro-Israel position/propaganda pretty easily. A lot of those campaigns are funded via the right and alt-right. People like Larry Ellison and Ben Shapiro just decided Ed Sheeran is worth listening to.
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