Welsh singer Charlotte Church has attacked Ed Sheeran, accusing him of “choosing capitalism over doing the right thing”, amid the row over the exclusion of pro-Palestine rapper Macklemore from his tour.
Macklemore, real name Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, was removed from his supporting role on the Loop tour in the US after seven of the eight remaining scheduled venues he was due to perform at threatened to cancel the concerts if he stayed on the bill.
The boycott threat came after the New Jersey leg of the tour last weekend, when Macklemore chanted “free Palestine” and projected images of Gaza during the performance of his 2024 pro-Palestine song Hind’s Hall.
Messina Touring Group, the tour’s US promoter, announced on Monday that the rapper would no longer be featuring in its line-up.
Macklemore promptly pointed the finger at Sheeran, accusing him of caring more about keeping his “apolitical image” than about the conflict in Gaza.
Sheeran spoke to fans in Philadelphia as the tour got back underway on Saturday – minus all his other support acts who had dropped out in solidarity with Macklemore.
The singer, who was visibly tearful throughout his speech, told fans that the situation had “put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet”.
He also stressed that his shows were supposed to be welcoming and that keeping them as such was fundamental to his identity, hence why he had decided to continue the tour on his own.
On the subject of the conflict, he described October 7 as “horrific”, adding that it “compounded centuries of Jewish pain”.
And in regard to Gaza, he said it was “catastrophic, unjustifiable and disproportionate”, adding that the situation in the West Bank “cannot be overlooked”.
One day after Sheeran’s speech, on Sunday, Church launched an attack at her own performance in Cardiff, saying: “Whilst he has made millions and has an enormous following, he has an enormous platform to do real good in the world.
“He chose consumerism and capitalism over doing the right thing.
“So we say the same thing to Ed Sheeran because f*** the fact [he says] that musicians shouldn't be involved in politics. F*** that s***. Politics is life.
“Ed Sheeran, we're watching you.”
She then rallied up the audience to chant: “Free Palestine.”
Church has been a prominent celebrity backer of the pro-Palestine movement for several years.
As well as taking part in numerous pro-Palestine protests, in February 2024 Church fronted a huge choir of 100 people, including children, turning the anti-Israel saying, “from the river to the sea”, into a song.
And last July, one week after Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation, Church was one of hundreds of public figures to sign a letter urging the government to lift the ban.
At the time she said: “By signing this letter I am not inviting support for any proscribed organisation – people can make their own minds up – but I am making a clear and strong stand against the abuse and misuse of terrorism laws to malign direct action protest.”
Last year, she campaigned against the proscription of Palestine Action, describing the ban as "a major assault on our freedoms."
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