Ed Sheeran’s Loop tour has turned into one of the biggest music stories of the year, and it keeps escalating. First, Macklemore was dropped from his support slot over pro-Palestine comments made during his sets. Then Sheeran’s entire backing band and all remaining support acts quit in solidarity. Now Billy Bragg is publicly questioning Sheeran’s $2 million donation to Middle East aid, calling it an attempt to“buy back your integrity.”
Bragg didn’t stop there. He argued Sheeran should have defended free speech by threatening to play Macklemore’s“Hind’s Hall”video onstage or simply saying“Free Palestine”into the mic when venue owner Robert Kraft pushed for Macklemore’s removal. Meanwhile, Macklemore pledged his entire $1 million in tour earnings to six organizations supporting Palestinians.
Sheeran addressed the controversy in Philadelphia, telling the crowd,“I am making mistakes, and I’m so, so sorry,”and describing Gaza as“catastrophic, unjustifiable, and disproportionate.”He performed with replacement musicians. Musicians like Roger Waters and Damon Albarn have also weighed in, which tells you this conversation isn’t cooling down anytime soon. So here’s the question: does a donation and an apology change how you see an artist, or does it take more than that?
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Local Lawton
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