U2 have stepped into the row over Macklemore’s removal from Ed Sheeran’s US stadium tour, telling BBC News that the rapper had every right to speak out about Gaza. In comments reported on November 7 and 8, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. said “no billionaire, no promoter, no owner” should be able to silence an artist, while The Edge insisted Sheeran himself should not be cast as the villain.
What We Know
The Irish band addressed the controversy in a new BBC interview ahead of the release of their next album, Carnaval De Luz, due later this month. According to NME and Consequence, which both reported the interview, guitarist The Edge said the band “totally support Macklemore’s right as an artist to say what he wanted to say.”
He was just as clear that he did not want the blame to land on Sheeran. “I don’t think Ed should be vilified,” The Edge said, adding, per Consequence, that the British singer “was in a difficult situation.” He also praised the younger musicians who walked away from the tour in protest, saying he commended “the other young artists who decided to leave.”
Mullen framed the issue as one of principle. He said artists can decide for themselves whether to be politically active and called that choice “a human right.” As long as speech does not incite violence, he said, U2 will defend it, and nobody, “no billionaire, no promoter, no owner,” has the right to censor anybody.
The Edge also spoke to the wider debate around the war in Gaza, saying the band “might disagree with some of the members of the pro-Palestine movement, but we absolutely agree with the fundamentals.”
Bono did not comment directly on the tour dispute. Instead, he described a conversation with Sheeran during the recording of U2’s song “Yours Eternally,” on which Sheeran appears. According to NME, Sheeran asked him, “You’re not going to get me into politics, are you?” and later explained that he wanted to “keep my thing free.”
Background
The dispute dates back to early September, when Macklemore was opening for Sheeran on the North American leg of his Loop Tour. At a September 5 show at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the Seattle rapper shouted “Free Palestine” and made pro-Palestinian remarks from the stage, WBUR reported.
He was then dropped from the remaining dates. Sheeran said the call was made by the tour’s promoter, not by him, and that he was “not complicit.” Macklemore, for his part, said New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who also owns Gillette Stadium, led the push to remove him. Kraft cited the rapper’s recent comments and what he described as “a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery,” according to WBUR.
The fallout spread quickly. Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and the Irish band Beoga all left the tour in solidarity with Macklemore, leaving Sheeran without his remaining support acts. Finneas is best known as the producer and co-writer behind his sister Billie Eilish. Sheeran said he would not abandon his fans, crew and fellow musicians, and explained that he avoids using his platform for politics because many people in his audience are young.
Since then, Macklemore has staged sold-out benefit concerts for Palestinian causes in Dublin, Paris and London, with guests that included Hozier and Kneecap, according to NME. He has also claimed that several major US arenas declined to host further benefit shows.
Reactions
U2’s comments are among the most high-profile from fellow musicians since the tour split. The band’s position is notable because of their close ties to Sheeran: he sang on “Yours Eternally,” and Consequence describes the band and the singer as friends. Rather than taking a side against him, the band has argued for a principle, that venue owners and promoters should not decide what artists may say on stage, while defending Sheeran personally.
What’s Next
U2 are gearing up for a busy end of the year. Carnaval De Luz, their new studio album, arrives in November, and the band has announced a return to large-scale touring in 2027. Consequence also reported that U2 will play SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and an NFL Thanksgiving Eve halftime show.
Neither Sheeran nor Macklemore had publicly responded to U2’s remarks at the time of writing. For more on the Hewson family, read our profile of Bono’s daughter, actress Eve Hewson, and our biography of Sheeran’s longtime friend Elton John.
Sources
- NME – U2 on the Ed Sheeran Macklemore row
- Consequence – U2 speak up about Ed Sheeran, Macklemore controversy
- Billboard – U2 back Macklemore’s right to speak out
- WBUR – Artists drop out of Ed Sheeran’s tour