Bob Geldof has defended Ed Sheeran amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Macklemore being dropped from the singer’s ‘Loop’ tour over pro-Palestine comments.
The Boomtown Rats frontman has weighed in on the row, arguing that artists have the right to decide whether they want to use their platform to speak on political issues, while also praising Macklemore and the musicians who subsequently withdrew from Sheeran’s tour.
“An artist has the absolute right to choose what he wants to say and when he wants to say it,” Geldof told the Belfast Telegraph. “There are those who say, y’know, at a certain level of fame, having a non-political stance is political. No, that’s not right. Fame is a currency, and it depends on how you want to use it.”
He continued: “I wouldn’t expect The Rolling Stones to get up and go on about Gaza, you just wouldn’t. Why? Because it’s not their thing, although I’m quite sure that Mick Jagger has an opinion on it.”
Gelfof did, however, reserve praise for those who took a stand, adding: “I really admire Macklemore and the guys who walked, because it’s a hard ask. They are making a big quid for the first time in their lives, y’know, and he just said, ‘No, mate’.”
| HQ video of Ed Sheeran’s full speech before his show tonight in Philadelphia pic.twitter.com/K8uElEtT8U
— Ed Sheeran Access (@AccessEdSheeran) September 20, 2026
He instead directed his criticism towards Gillette Stadium owner Robert Kraft and the tour’s promoters.
“Shame on Kraft, and shame on the promoters,” Geldof said. “Shame on them! But not shame on Sheeran.”
“They both should be supported by the promoters that put on their concerts and by the owners of the stadium,” he said. “It’s certainly none of their fucking business what an artist gets up to.”
The comments come after Sheeran returned to the stage in Philadelphia on Saturday (September 19) and admitted making “mistakes” over the Macklemore row.
Speaking to the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field, Sheeran said the fallout had made him question whether he wanted “to be an artist at all”.
“I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes, and I’m so, so sorry,” he said.
Sheeran also said he had never intended to be “an activist musician”, but that the controversy had placed him at the centre of “an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech”.
“I am deeply worried about the idea that venues should pre-approve content for performers,” he told the audience. “This happens in so many places that I perform around the world, but it should never happen in the free world.”
Turning to Gaza, he added: “I’ve tried in my career to not be a political commentator of any kind because I want my music and shows to be about unity, not division, about humanity, not politics.
“But this is a humanitarian issue, and I cannot hide how I feel about it anymore.”
Sheeran described the Hamas-led attack at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023 as “horrific”, before saying that what was happening in Gaza was “catastrophic, unjustifiable, and disproportionate”.
He also said he was “speaking to people across the spectrum” about making a humanitarian contribution.
During the same concert, Sheeran revealed that he had removed the usual B-stage from the show because he was “afraid of what might happen” if he stood in the middle of the crowd.
“I didn’t know if I’d have things thrown at me,” he told fans.
