Ed Sheeran is seriously out of touch

I can’t remember a time when at least one Ed Sheeran song wasn’t on the radio. 

For over 10 years, he has been one of the biggest male artists in the world, but recently he made the biggest misstep of his career — and no amount of pity tears are going to fix it. 

When I saw that Macklemore was pulled from Sheeran’s Loop Tour after the outrage over his making pro-Palestine comments on stage, I was immediately confused by Sheeran’s response. 

“I am not complicit,” Sheeran wrote in a tone deaf statement, then went on to explain that he has stayed away from politics throughout his career to provide a safe space for all fans.

Honestly, I think it’s hypocritical. 

Sheeran had no problem starting his career with a song about the cycle of poverty. He had no problem performing a benefit concert for Ukraine. He had no problem promoting former Labour Party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, in 2017 and had no issue signing a letter to protect British performers from the impacts of Brexit. 

Sure, Sheeran was put in a tough spot. He’s the face of an international tour which would need hundreds, if not thousands, of workers to bring it together, and millions of fans who paid hundreds of dollars to see him. 

However, Sheeran has inserted himself into the political sphere time and time again. He shouldn’t choose when he enters and exits. He can’t claim neutrality. 

When did art stop becoming political? Is there a line for him, a way to measure what amount of suffering gets a response?

In a post on Instagram, Macklemore wrote that he and Sheeran have been friends for 13 years. In that time, they’ve collaborated both on and off-stage with a song and special appearances during past performances. So maybe Sheeran’s first mistake was misunderstanding his own friend. 

Macklemore loudly supports minority groups. His artistry has had ties to his advocacy for years. If Sheeran wanted to protect his neutral political image, he should’ve picked another artist. 

Sheeran’s inability to take accountability for the entire situation is apparent when he explicitly points fingers at his promoters and recluses himself from the narrative.

Finding an opener for a global tour isn’t easy. They likely have to be screened for popularity, availability and most importantly, for compatibility with fans.

Macklemore’s advocacy should’ve been one of the first things his management addressed when considering openers. So either Sheeran knew and didn’t care at the time, or deep mismanagement caused the first domino to fall. 

Either way, it was a team effort, and together they failed to adequately prepare for one of the biggest tours of the year. 

Truthfully, his statement shows who he is. Either he is so adamant about defending himself that he is willing to throw everyone under the bus, or his PR team genuinely thought this strategy would work. 

I don’t know which one is worse. 

Ultimately, Macklemore is right. None of them are victims. They will still have millions of dollars when this blows over, and some bad PR won’t change that. 

So yes, Sheeran can cry on stage and claim it’s “one of the worst weeks of [his] life,” but my empathy will be with the real victims: the Palestinians, whose worst week is happening over and over again.