World renowned musician Ed Sheeran has been drawn into controversy after U.S rapper 'Macklemore' was dropped from his US concerts following objections to his “Free Palestine” comments. His comments did though include more like wanting freedoms for other countries, desires for world peace and stating his comments were not criticisms of Jewish people.

Stadium owner Robert Kraft though cited concerns about antisemitism and threatened to withdraw Ed Sheeran’s shows if Macklemore stayed on - with Ed Sheeran having to deliver the bad news to Macklemore that he could not stay on.

Other performers subsequently pulled out in protest, objecting to billionaire stadium owners suppressing musicians and artistic expression.

Strangely though musician Kanye West know known as 'Ye' has performed at concerts putting out his own antisemitic songs and has sold clothing with nazi symbols on them. He will be allowed to perform at many stadiums where Macklemore has been banned.

Meanwhile Ed Sheeran has said he doesn't take sides, despite supporting Ukraine, supporting Jeremy Corbyn, standing for LGBTQ+ equality and opposing Brexit.

Ed Sheeran has customers who now want refunds to concerts, ticket resale prices have hit all time lows and he has lost large numbers of supporters on social media.

The whole situation raises questions about where legitimate concerns about antisemitism end and censorship begins - particularly when other performers accused of antisemitic conduct continue appearing at major stadiums and venues.

When you say things like "globalise the intifada" on stage at a public gathering, you should be aware that there might be commercial consequences.

Maybe the BBC could look after Ed until the storm blows over?

Concerts are for entertainment.
They should not contain deliberate references to any contentious public issue.
There is surely a better time and place for such matters to be given public attention.

But Ipso, those fp people are such peaceful darlings. I just saw one at a peaceful public gathering say that PH should be executed and then he assaulted the cameraman.

Unfortunately there are some on here who pretend to be offended by a few words uttered by a bloke on stage "FREE PALESTINE", yet say nothing about 74,000 people killed, 21,000 of them children, in Gaza since the killing of 1200 innocent Israelis on October 7th 2023.

It's when good people say nothing that these atrocities are allowed to occur.

The 'performers' who made the anti-semitic comments are entitled to do so.

The people who didn't want these people to perform and perhaps make similar comments in their PRIVATELY owned facilities are entitled to ban them. (It'd be different if it was publicly owned).

The fans who go there are entitled to decide for themselves if they want to support antisemites or just don't care.

Sheeran is entitled to keep his views to himself and not be forced to take a side. Equally he's entitled to decide that his career is more important than his politics and to, as he now has, cave to the mob.

Everyone is entitled to do exactly as they have. No-one's freedom of speech is infringed. The antisemites haven't been silenced but the stadium owners aren't required to provide them with a venue to spout their hate.

The bigger thing is who gives a damn what these singers think. Just because they have some musical ability doesn't mean they have some insight into international affairs. But their over-blown egos make them think their opinions are beacons to their fans.

Just sing and leave the politics to the adults.

After all that, anyone who has seen the movie "Yesterday" knows that 'bloody Ed Sheeran' was the bloke who changed the words of 'Hey Jude' to 'Hey Dude'. So he deserves everything that comes his way!!

Yeah this is probably just as likely the the rich Jewish stadium owner Kraf was embarrassed and copping flak from his Zionist mates (who are engaged in their endless war) about allowing concerts to take place where the performers supported Palestine, and maybe criticised Israel for their actions against them.

I don't really care.
Everyone gets what they deserve.
Supporting Israel is becoming deeply unpopular in the U.S.
Kraft can lose concert revenue and take a financial hit from boycotts
Ed Sheeran gets what he deserves too for standing for nothing, (just seems to exploit the 'heartbroken / disillusioned women in their 30's pining for love and belonging' market) and everybody else wins for standing by their principles.

Kraft wants to be a cry baby then let the baby have his bottle.

Ispo Fatso,

<<Concerts are for entertainment. They should not contain deliberate references to any contentious public issue. There is surely a better time and place for such matters to be given public attention.>>

Well there may well be other places to discuss/talk about contentious matters, instead of a concert.

As I pointed out though Ed Sheeran has been political before, including being part of a fundraising concert to support Ukrainians.

Now for me personally, I think that is perfectly fine, but if you are going to do that, you will be asked what you views are on other matters and you are not going to be able to sit on the fence.

In this case for Ed Sheeran I think it has backfired and he has lost a lot of supporters, including from his follow up speeches which have been poorly put together and really made no sense.

I think the best thing to do is to apologise to the musician he cut out and to those who subsequently dropped out as a result. You shouldn't pour cold water on those you work alongside in the music industry unless there is a strong case to do so.

I like Wagner. He was an anti-Semite, or anti-zoinist as it is now commonly called. I wouldn't expect Wagner to renounce his hatred before I listened to his music. I'd be the loser with that attitude, not least because Ricky died long before I was born with his hatred in tact.

Ed's probably annoyed because he's become the victim of people who take an irrational dislike to a person because of something they think.

Just replying to mhaze,

<<The people who didn't want these people to perform and perhaps make similar comments in their PRIVATELY owned facilities are entitled to ban them. (It'd be different if it was publicly owned).>>

I partially agree, but it is odd these same owners are not banning Kanye West performing - who is anti-semitic and has put out songs in praise of a well known neo-nazi. (I don't need to mention names here). He also sold t-shirts with neo-nazi messages/symbols on them. I'm sure he still has some.

<<The bigger thing is who gives a damn what these singers think.>>

Well one stadium owner did - Robert Kraft.

<<Just sing and leave the politics to the adults.>>

Well, Ed Sheeran thought it was O.K to come out in favour of LBGTQ rights, Ukraine, Jeremy Corbyn and spoke out on Brexit. A lot of people do take musicians, Hollywood stars and personalities into account, in terms of what they stand for.

Yes, there are people out there with more to include and have a bigger role to play in terms of decisions made internationally. Even here though Ed Sheeran had a musician pulled with a strong message to put out there, which in essence is a form of silencing. That's a big thing. It's not a small thing.

Ed Sheeran, isn't the smartest guy around I agree and he's used to loafing around and playing music, but that's not an excuse for his actions/lack of action. He is worth like $400m and he has a lot of sway in that regard and should use his worth to make a difference.

Finally, we have just seen Ed Sheeran's concerts ironically cancelled over the weekend - due to bad weather. You would have thought the organisers would know a bit better. Anyway......

Hi NathanJ,

Musos and their music have played an integral part in both messaging and influencing public opinion for generations. In my time I listened to the likes of Bob Dylan, Bob Marley and others, still do, who were able to convey to the world words of protest for millions who were denied a voice, and who were not listened to by the powerful establishment.

Here's one that I think was particularly influential; As relevant today as it was in 1964.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90WD_ats6eE