Paloma Faith has a question for Ed Sheeran: if performing at a concert for Ukraine was acceptable, why has speaking up for Palestinians caused a support act to lose his place on Sheeran’s tour?
“I did play a concert with Ed Sheeran to raise money for Ukraine,” she told Krishnan Guru-Murthy on Channel 4 News’s The Fourcast. “So he wasn’t apolitical by doing that, and I don’t really understand why one felt more political than the other.”
Faith and Sheeran were both on the bill for Concert for Ukraine in Birmingham in March 2022. The televised fundraiser raised more than £13.4 million for the Disasters Emergency Committee’s humanitarian appeal. They did not perform together as a duo; Faith’s point was that both agreed to take part in an event with an unmistakable public purpose.
Four years later, Sheeran says he wants his concerts to offer “unity, joy, escapism and love” and does not want them to become a political forum. Faith thinks the distinction is difficult to defend after Macklemore was removed from the remaining dates of Sheeran’s Loop Tour following his calls for a free Palestine at two New Jersey concerts.
‘Being apolitical is a political act in itself’
Macklemore spoke about Gaza and the occupied West Bank during his opening sets at MetLife Stadium. The Israeli American Council subsequently called for him to be taken off the tour. Promoter Messina Touring Group said operators of upcoming venues would not allow the concerts to go ahead with Macklemore on the bill, and removed him from his remaining support dates.
Sheeran says he tried to resolve the objections and did not make the final decision. “Macklemore coming off tour was the promoter’s decision, it was not mine,” he said in his response. He also said he was “not complicit” and that keeping his views private did not mean he lacked them.
Faith was unconvinced by the appeal to staying out of politics.
“I think what Ed Sheeran’s learning the hard way is that being apolitical is a political act in itself.”
Guru-Murthy put a distinction to her: support for Ukraine had overwhelming backing in Britain, while public discussion of Israel and Palestine is fiercely contested. Faith suggested that some artists fear being branded antisemitic if they speak for Palestinians.
Faith said she saw nothing inflammatory in Macklemore’s speech. “It was actually very beautiful and poignant and important,” she said. She has also called him “my hero” on social media.
Faith wanted Sheeran to stand by the original lineup
Faith was more careful when asked whether Sheeran should cancel the rest of his tour. She said she did not know whether he could do so under the contracts and insurance arrangements, or what cancellation would mean for the people employed by the production.
“I don’t know if he can insurance-wise. I don’t really know the small print of that.”
Her preferred response would have come earlier. She said she had hoped Sheeran would tell the venues that the performers he booked were part of the show and stand by them. Asked what she thought now, she said he “probably should have remained true to the original bookings for the tour”.
That is Faith’s view of what Sheeran could have argued for, rather than evidence that he had the power to overrule the venues. Sheeran says he spoke with stadium operators, including Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft, but that the venues and promoter made the final call.
The consequences have reached beyond Macklemore. Aaron Rowe and Lukas Graham withdrew from their upcoming opening slots, while Beoga, the Irish group that performs with Sheeran onstage, left the US tour. Finneas withdrew from six South American dates in November. Their departures and the differing dates are covered in our earlier account of the tour dispute.
Faith praised those musicians for walking away. But she did not portray Sheeran as a villain. “He is a nice guy,” she said, before adding that she thought the decision had been “gravely mishandled”. She believed he should acknowledge it as a mistake.
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