Paloma Faith has weighed in on the debate surrounding Ed Sheeran’s decision to remove Macklemore from his Loop Tour.
Earlier this week, the Shape of You hitmaker and his team dropped Macklemore from the lineup after the rapper’s “free Palestine” remarks during two performances in New Jersey.
In a show of solidarity with the Thrift Shop artist, all remaining supporting acts on the Loop Tour—Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Lukas Graham, and Beoga—revealed that they would be withdrawing as well.
“I’m genuinely relieved that I’m not in Ed Sheeran’s position right now because this is, frankly, astonishing and poorly managed by most of those who advise him,” Paloma, 45, told Krishnan Guru-Murthy on Channel 4’s The Fourcast.
Describing Ed as “a nice guy,” she added that he is “learning the hard way that you can’t reach that kind of peak and think you can remain out of politics because choosing to be apolitical is, in itself, a political act.”
The singer of “Only Love Can Hurt Like This” explained that she has “always pushed back against a culture of political indifference” and believes musicians should stand up for humanitarian causes.
She also recalled performing at a concert with Ed Sheeran to “raise money for Ukraine,” questioning why “one cause felt more political than the other.”
When asked whether she thought Ed should cancel the nine remaining dates on his Loop Tour, Paloma wondered about the insurance implications, noting, “I’m not sure what the small print says,” adding, “It’s far more nuanced in a legal sense.”
Explaining that she believed it would be the right thing to do “ideologically,” she added, “I don’t know what the financial consequences would be for his team or whether it could bankrupt him.”
