Credit: Stefan Schäfer, Lich / YouTube Still
Mon 21 September 2026 15:20, UK
Bob Geldof has expressed support for Ed Sheeran after Macklemore was removed from his tour by promoters after making pro-Palestine comments.
After Macklemore was taken off the tour, subsequently, all of Sheeran’s other support acts, Finneas, Lukas Graham, and Aaron Rowe, as well as his backing band Beoga, also dropped out.
Sheeran returned to the stage on September 19th at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, addressing the situation and admitting to making “mistakes”.
He also promised fans that he is speaking to “people across the spectrum” to understand how to make a “contribution that helps victims of these terrible times, and listening and learning, because I do not know enough.”
Now, Geldof has shown support for Sheeran, telling the Belfast Telegraph, “An artist has the absolute right to choose what he wants to say and when he wants to say it, 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.”
Geldof 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.”
Nevertheless, while Geldof does have sympathy for the position that Sheeran found himself in, he did add, “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’.”
On Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the Gillette Stadium that played a pivotal role in Macklemore’s removal, Geldof said, “Shame on Kraft, and shame on the promoters. Shame on them! But not shame on Sheeran.”
Speaking from a personal perspective, Geldof reflected on the boycott of Sun City during apartheid in South Africa, noting that while he was part of the boycott, “Other bands, Elton (John) and that went to play Sun City, that’s their absolute prerogative, it’s not my job to go round telling other people what to think and believe.”
The Irish singer went on to call Sheeran “a thinking man” and “a good man”, before shifting the blame on the promoters, saying both the ‘Galway Girl’ singer and Macklemore “both should be supported by the promoters that put on their concerts and by the owners of the stadium, it’s certainly none of their fucking business what an artist gets up to,” who he also branded as a “disgrace”.
Following his removal from the tour, Macklemore has since vowed to donate his $1 million salary from the tour to Palestine Children’s Relief Fund, Heal Palestine, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Medical Aid for Palestinians, UNRWA USA National Committee and Anera.
He also called out Kraft to do the same, who has pledged to donate $2 million to “aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis,” which he said Sheeran is also set to do. However, Kraft did not explain precisely where his donation would go.
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