Ed Sheeran, fence-sitting isn’t commendable; it’s cowardly

In an interview with the Real Ones Show in 2023, Zack Fox said that Ed Sheeran is a “psy-op,” alleging that he didn’t “[come] up” in the industry and was instead “deployed.” 

He joked that Sheeran was the next phase of Cointel pro, a series of covert and illegal projects by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that targeted and persecuted groups that, amongst other things, protested the Vietnam War. 

But was he actually joking? You can never tell with Fox. He has the kind of dry humor that makes the audience die of laughter while he keeps a straight face. 

I don’t think anyone’s laughing now. Just dying. 

Three years later, Fox sounds less like Nate Bargatze and more like Nostradamus.  

This week, fans learned that Sheeran stood by while his long-time friend Macklemore was ousted from his “Loop Tour” after the rapper spoke out in support of Palestine during a show at MetLife Stadium. 

Before performing a song, Macklemore said, “Free Palestine,” and offered words of support for those aiding in the effort to help the citizens under the weight of the atrocities occurring in the region. 

In a post on social media, Macklemore revealed that promoters removed him because of pressure from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who, in the words of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is Israel’s “most loyal friend.” 

Kraft confirmed to ESPN that he had Macklemore removed from the pair’s upcoming performance at Gillette Stadium on Sept. 25 and 26 because of “his recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s show in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community.” 

But of course, he didn’t stop there. 

According to Macklemore, Kraft rang his billionaire buddies across the league and encouraged other stadium owners to do the same. 

Together, they offered Sheeran an ultimatum: Drop your friend from your tour or be ousted from performing at the remaining venues.  

And like someone who was “deployed” by the powers that be, he caved to the pressure from the bourgeoisie.

He chose money and profits over a decade-long relationship because the words “Free Palestine,” the image of war and the Palestinian flag were hurtful to the people he’d spoken with. 

How privileged it must be to be uncomfortable with words instead of famine or the thought that your loved ones could be murdered at any given moment. 

That’s not to say antisemitism isn’t a real issue – it is. One that’s characterized by years of violence, treachery and persecution against the Jewish community. 

But you can’t levy that charge against everyone willing to hold a government accountable for its atrocities. 

It can’t be a shield to protect the powers that be from anyone brave enough to defend the oppressed in times of war. It shouldn’t be weaponized to protect a government from accountability. 

Macklemore’s actions weren’t antisemitic. In fact, he clearly said, “To my Jewish brothers and sisters: Criticism of Israel, criticism of apartheid, being against genocide, in no way is a criticism of you.”

His message is easily discernible, so why the pushback?

The problem isn’t actually that Macklemore was speaking out against Jewish people. The issue is that he challenged a state Kraft – and various other owners – has spent years publicly supporting and investing millions in.

Because if antisemitism is really where these stadium owners draw the line, their standards are awfully inconsistent.

AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys and one of the venues Macklemore said banned him from performing, is scheduled to welcome Kanye West in November. You know, the same Ye who has spent years making explicitly antisemitic remarks and released a song titled “Heil Hitler.”

Isn’t that worse, Jerry?

What’s the difference?

I’ll tell you.

One artist is attempting to hold billionaires accountable for supporting a war that has led to the deaths of countless innocent people.

One artist is empathetic enough to risk brand deals, partnerships and millions of dollars for something he feels strongly about. 

The other was too afraid to stick up for his friend against the ruling class in the name of remaining “apolitical.”

Because, you know, Zionists buy albums too.

But being centrist isn’t commendable. It isn’t inherently level-headed. And standing in the middle while insisting you’re willing to hear both sides or staying silent because you don’t want to offend anyone is a sign of privilege. Privilege that the oppressed don’t have. 

Silence is a very loud statement. It says you’re trying to please everyone. But only those with the power benefit.  

In this case, Sheeran’s silence came with a cost.

FINNEAS dropped out of the tour. Aaron Rowe dropped out. His longtime collaborators Beoga dropped out. Other supporting acts followed, refusing to continue on the tour in solidarity with Macklemore.

They were willing to lose something for what they believed. Macklemore was, too.

After being removed from the tour, he pledged to donate the $1 million he would have received from the remaining shows to organizations providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians. Then, he challenged Kraft to do the same.

On Wednesday, Kraft responded.

In a statement, the Patriots owner said Sheeran called him and asked him to donate $2 million toward humanitarian aid “in the region” to “fight this humanitarian crisis.”

Good.

Two million dollars can provide real help to people who desperately need it if it’s truly going to Palestinian support. 

But it doesn’t erase what happened before the check was written.

At best, it reads like virtue signaling – the kind of reaction institutions make after facing enough public scrutiny that doing nothing becomes more damaging than doing something. 

Because where was that conviction before the backlash?

Where was the willingness to help when Macklemore was standing onstage saying “Free Palestine?”

Where was Sheeran’s courage when his friend was being threatened with removal from stadiums?

Where was his supposed neutrality when powerful billionaires were deciding which political speech was acceptable enough to be heard inside their buildings?

That’s the problem with being “apolitical.” The middle ground is a myth. Eventually, politics finds you anyway and makes you choose. 

And when it did, Sheeran had an opportunity to stand beside someone he’d known for more than a decade, accept the consequences and make it clear that billionaires couldn’t dictate who was allowed to speak on his stage.

Sheeran is reportedly worth over $400 million. He has power and influence. He could have called the promoters’ and owners’ bluff. If they had truly canceled his tour, the stadiums would have lost millions of dollars, and he could have led a charge that would have cost stakeholders millions more. 

And if he lost, it would be a fraction in comparison to what innocent people in the Middle East have had to suffer. 

If he’d stood by Macklemore, all of the outrage would have pointed toward the owners and promoters who removed him. 

Instead, the show goes on.

Just without Sheeran’s friend.

Maybe Fox really was joking three years ago. Maybe the idea that Sheeran was “deployed” was nothing more than another off-the-wall line delivered with the straightest face imaginable.

But it doesn’t sound quite as ridiculous anymore. Because when powerful people applied pressure, Sheeran folded.

When standing beside his friend threatened the machine around him, he chose the machine.

And when doing the right thing carried a price tag, the man who wanted so desperately to stay in the middle showed everyone exactly which side he was willing to stand on.