Billy Bragg “not impressed by Ed Sheeran’s attempt to deflect the current storm of criticism” and questions

Billy Bragg has doubled down on his criticism of Ed Sheeran following Macklemore being dropped from the ‘Loop’ tour due to his pro-Palestine comments.

Bragg went on to argue that Sheeran had an opportunity to take a stronger stand during his Philadelphia concert.

He continued by arguing that Sheeran should have threatened to show the video for Macklemore’s pro-Palestine protest track ‘Hind’s Hall’ and say “Free Palestine” if Kraft demanded that Macklemore be removed from the tour.

He concluded: “Ed still has a chance to redeem himself. How he deals with this controversy while onstage in Philadelphia tonight could help reset his image or plunge him deeper into disdain.”.

Since Bragg made the post, Sheeran has returned to the ‘Loop’ tour and addressed the controversy at length during the Philadelphia show.

At the start of the concert, the singer said he had been forced to make “difficult decisions” and acknowledged: “I am making mistakes, and I’m so, so sorry.”.

📲| Ed’s full speech thanking for the support.

Sheeran added that he was “speaking to people across the spectrum” about how to make a contribution to those affected, and said he was “listening and learning because I do not know enough”.

He went ahead with the concert after all of his remaining support acts and backing band withdrew from the tour in solidarity with Macklemore. During the show, Sheeran revealed that replacement musicians had been given three days to learn the material, saying they had agreed to perform despite knowing that “the world might hate them too for coming on stage with me”.

The controversy began after Macklemore used his support slots at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey to make an impassioned plea for a “Free Palestine” and performed ‘Hind’s Hall’ alongside footage from Gaza.

The rapper subsequently faced calls for his removal from figures including Pink and the Israeli American Council. Kraft later said Macklemore’s appearance at his Gillette Stadium would cross the venue’s line on what it considered hate speech, while Sheeran maintained that the ultimate decision to drop the rapper was taken by the tour promoter.

Bragg is among numerous musicians to have weighed in on the fallout. Massive Attack said that “‘neutrality’ in the face of the slaughter of more than 20,000 children can never be neutrality”, while Roger Waters criticised Sheeran and praised Macklemore for doing “the right thing”.

More recently, Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey said Sheeran’s handling of Macklemore “doesn’t sit right”, while Damon Albarn held up a Palestinian flag during Gorillaz’s opening US tour show and told the crowd: “Don’t ever be neutral”.

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