Ed Sheeran, Macklemore, and the politics of staying silent

艾德·希兰、麦克莱莫尔与沉默的政治

The Global Story

2026-09-17

26 分钟
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One of the most successful songwriters of all time is facing the biggest controversy of his nearly two decades in the public eye. Where does pop star Ed Sheeran go from here? On Tuesday, every support act for Sheeran withdrew from his US stadium tour, following a decision to drop rapper Macklemore from the tour for his on-stage pro-Palestinian comments. In a statement, Sheeran declined to take a political stance on Macklemore’s comments, and stressed that he was not responsible for the decision to remove the rapper from the roster. Is it possible for pop stars to stay out of the political fray? We speak to BBC music correspondent Mark Savage about the controversy, and what it reveals about the conversion of pop culture and politics. Producers: Xandra Ellin and Hannah Moore Executive producer: Martine Powers Digital producer: Sam Gruet Sound engineer: Travis Evans Senior news editor: China Collins PHOTO: Singer Ed Sheeran exits the Manhattan federal court for his copyright trial in New York City, U.S., April 25, 2023. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
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  • One of the reasons why I wanted to come on this tour was because I wanted to stand up here.

  • On stages and stadiums across America and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart, free Palestine.

  • Those two words spoken by the rapper Macklemore on September 4th at the MetLife

  • Stadium in New Jersey are now at the center of a huge controversy.

  • It's drawn in the American billionaire Robert Kraft, figures from all over the entertainment world,

  • and the musician Ed Sheeran, one of the most successful singer-songwriters of all time.

  • It's raised questions about anti-Semitism, how the war in Gaza is viewed, and the very meaning of free speech.

  • From the BBC, I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, D.C. And I'm Tristan Redmond in London.

  • Today on The Global Story, can pop music ever be apolitical?

  • So to talk us through this all, we are joined by our BBC colleague, Mark Savage.