To feel sorry for Ed Sheeran.....

Of course it's fair. Why should art be censored so that everybody feels comfortable? Lots of art makes people feel uncomfortable. Sometimes that's the entire point. Once you start deciding that oh actually this time 'comfort' matters more than freedom of expression then you've opened the door and before you know it it can't be shut again. Either we don't censor artists or we do. Either people's comfort comes before art and freedom of expression or it doesn't. Who should get to decide in which cases 'comfort' matters more than the right to freedom of expression? It seems the answer to that is becoming Billionaires and that's something everybody should be worried about.

But I didn't say his art should be censored. I said there is a reasonable expectation about what you're going to encounter at an Ed Sheeran concert. Macklemore is completely free to make political art and people are completely free to choose whether they want to attend it. That's different from unexpectedly turning someone else's concert into a platform for it.

But I didn't say his art should be censored. I said there is a reasonable expectation about what you're going to encounter at an Ed Sheeran concert. Macklemore is completely free to make political art and people are completely free to choose whether they want to attend it. That's different from unexpectedly turning someone else's concert into a platform for it.

Have you ever been to a live music event? Artists spout off all the time about various things some you may agree with some you don't. Nothing Macklemore has done is unusual or uncommon.

Macklemore is completely free to make political art and people are completely free to choose whether they want to attend it.

Exactly. People were at a Macklemore performance. They were completely free to choose whether or not to attend. They chose to attend. They felt uncomfortable. That's fine. Maybe next time don't attend. That's all that needed to be said and done. Instead Billionaires chose to censor art and people are angry about that. That's the whole debacle really.

But they weren't at a Macklemore concert. They were at an Ed Sheeran concert, at which Macklemore was a support act. That's the distinction.

Fair enough to keep politics out of entertainment and maybe Ed Sheeran should have clarified that position with his support acts before they launched.

However if someone threatens to cancel your venue because of your (or your support act’s) political views then the concept of “I may not agree with Macklemore’s views but I will defend to the death his right to express them” should apply I feel. I think he should have taken a stand at that point.

Sorry what? They were at a Macklemore performance. They chose to go to a Macklemore performance. Sure he was the support act but he was still a listed performer on the night. He wasn't a surprise act. He wasn't some kind of jump scare. He was the advertised support act.

Sorry what? They were at a Macklemore performance. They chose to go to a Macklemore performance. Sure he was the support act but he was still a listed performer on the night. He wasn't a surprise act. He wasn't some kind of jump scare. He was the advertised support act.

I've now skimmed through the entire thread and, from what I've read, apart from one passing reference very early on, nobody seems to have mentioned Pink's response to this. That's not really surprising because her response seems to have been noticeably missing from a lot of the UK coverage of the story. That's unfortunate because she articulated really well what I'm actually trying to say here.

Pink is Jewish. She was very clear that she wasn't objecting to the words "Free Palestine", wasn't asking for Macklemore to be silenced and wasn't saying that everything Israel does is OK. She also made clear that she cares about what is happening to Palestinians and wants innocent people protected. But she also said that she should be able to say, as a Jewish mother, that what happened at that concert frightened her and people she loves, without that being taken to mean that she supports what is happening in Gaza. She said: "You don't get to decide that for us." And I think that's the part almost completely missing from this thread.

Every attempt to discuss whether Jewish people at an Ed Sheeran concert might reasonably have felt uncomfortable seems to turn immediately back into an argument about whether what is happening in Gaza is terrible. Those are two different questions.

Pink also said: "You don't have to agree with one thing Israel's government does" to care about a Jewish family at a concert feeling frightened or targeted. That's it really. That's the point I've been trying to make. I'm not asking anyone here to change their opinion about Israel, Gaza, Macklemore or "Free Palestine". I'm saying that people should consider that Jewish people were also in that stadium and that they are entitled to describe how that experience felt to them. Telling them that Macklemore meant to reassure them doesn't make their reaction wrong. Telling them that they shouldn't have been uncomfortable in the first place because his comments were about Gaza rather than Jews doesn't make their reaction wrong either.

Any time someone discusses Jewish experience, the conversation immediately becomes another debate about Israel's actions in Gaza.

That's why Pink's statement resonated with me so much. She managed to articulate something I've been struggling to explain. I genuinely think it's worth reading her whole statement rather than just the headlines about her criticising Macklemore: https://ew.com/pink-responds-to-backlash-after-sharing-post-criticizing-macklemore-politics-12116790

But they weren't at a Macklemore concert. They were at an Ed Sheeran concert, at which Macklemore was a support act. That's the distinction.

Macklemore is completely free to make political art and people are completely free to choose whether they want to attend it.

Exactly. People were at a Macklemore performance. They were completely free to choose whether or not to attend. They chose to attend. They felt uncomfortable. That's fine. Maybe next time don't attend. That's all that needed to be said and done. Instead Billionaires chose to censor art and people are angry about that. That's the whole debacle really.

Sorry what? They were at a Macklemore performance. They chose to go to a Macklemore performance. Sure he was the support act but he was still a listed performer on the night. He wasn't a surprise act. He wasn't some kind of jump scare. He was the advertised support act.

Of course I know he was advertised. But if I'm buying tickets to see Ed Sheeran, I don't research the political views or previous political performances of every support act before deciding whether to go. Seeing Macklemore listed as support wouldn't make me think I was choosing to attend a political Macklemore performance.

Have you ever been to a live music event? Artists spout off all the time about various things some you may agree with some you don't. Nothing Macklemore has done is unusual or uncommon.

Well that's on you then? If there is a chance that hearing political commentary from an artist at a performance will make you feel 'uncomfortable' then why wouldn't you research all of the performers that you are going to see?

It's hardly Macklemores fault that people didn't research his performance before going to it. Yet he seems to have been censored because of people's ignorance. It's not what he did, it's just that I didn't expect him to do it

So anyone who does business with Jewish people is a ‘Zionist sympathiser’?

Sounding a bit Adolf, there.

Have you ever been to a live music event? Artists spout off all the time about various things some you may agree with some you don't. Nothing Macklemore has done is unusual or uncommon.

No, I don't think it's remotely reasonable to expect people to research the political views and previous performances of every support act before buying a concert ticket. I suspect the vast majority of people don't do that. And anyway, was Macklemore actually announced as the support act when these tickets originally went on sale? Support acts are often announced later.
And again, I'm not saying Macklemore shouldn't be allowed to express his views. I'm saying Jewish members of an Ed Sheeran audience are also allowed to say that the way he chose to do it made them uncomfortable. I'm not sure why you seem so determined to argue that they shouldn't even be entitled to that reaction.

Free Palestine' is not a phrase denoting threat to either Israel or Jewish people (I'm Jewish for those who don't know)

My Jewish friend was very disturbed indeed and felt threatened by someone thrusting just such a leaflet into her hands.

We do not know how others might react to political statements and if someone has paid to be entertained then that is what should happen - entertainment.

There are plenty of other platforms where views can be expressed and broadcast without these intruding on a concert.

I've been to an Ed Sheeran concert in the summer of 2025 (James Blunt supporting) and nothing political was said on stage over the course of several hours. It was a very "family" happy vibe and just about the music and having a fun day out.

"Some artists spout off all the time" ... yes but Ed Sheeran is not of them who talks about political things all the time and Macklemore should spout off at his own gigs if he wants to, not someone else's!

Well that's on you then? If there is a chance that hearing political commentary from an artist at a performance will make you feel 'uncomfortable' then why wouldn't you research all of the performers that you are going to see?

It's hardly Macklemores fault that people didn't research his performance before going to it. Yet he seems to have been censored because of people's ignorance. It's not what he did, it's just that I didn't expect him to do it

It was a bit more clear cut who the aggressor was with Ukraine and maybe there was less chance if offending Russians. I guess as a Jew if you were chanting statements associated with the abortion of your religious homeland you might feel intimidated (and a lot of Jews are).