{"id":806926,"date":"2026-10-18T21:14:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T21:14:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/806926\/"},"modified":"2026-10-18T21:14:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T21:14:21","slug":"five-artists-who-believe-art-should-stay-out-of-politics-and-five-who-disagree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/806926\/","title":{"rendered":"Five artists who believe art should stay out of politics, and five who disagree"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ed Sheeran \u2013 Apolitical \"Ed<\/p>\n

Well, Ed Shee<\/a>r<\/a>an<\/a> would claim to be political, of course, for he was more than keen to dedicate his music to the Ukrainian cause. But suddenly, once the lives of Palestinian children came into the equation, there was a swift step back from the political front and a timid exercise of feigned ignorance.<\/p>\n

In his defence speech on stage<\/a> during his Loop Tour \u2013 the one Macklemore was removed from \u2013 he said he \u201cnever wanted to be an activist musician\u201d and that he has found himself \u201cin the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet\u201d. <\/p>\n

He still failed to take a side, presumably hoping to perform without political pressure derailing his career. But unfortunately, we\u2019ve all seen through it now \u2013 these are unavoidably political times in which one of the most influential artists in the world has chosen to be apolitical.<\/p>\n

\"Macklemore<\/p>\n

No one would have thought over a decade ago, as we were all bobbing our heads to \u2018Thrift Shop,\u2019 that the fun and light-hearted\u00a0rapper<\/a>\u00a0Macklemore would become such a prominent political artist.<\/p>\n

Yet here we are. In 2024, he released the song \u2018Hind\u2019s Hall\u2019, which made his stance on the conflict between Palestine and Israel pretty clear. Since then, he\u2019s been using his platform to denounce the silence of others in the music industry. <\/p>\n

The political nature of his recent shows has landed Macklemore in hot water, as he said \u201cFree Palestine\u201d while supporting Ed Sheeran on tour, a move that saw him dropped from Sheeran\u2019s run of shows. Macklemore stood tall<\/a>, though, saying: \u201cIf those words cost me the stage, while turning the conversation back to Palestine, then it was the most successful tour I\u2019ve ever been on.\u201d<\/p>\n

James Hetfield \u2013 Apolitical \"James<\/p>\n

The very DNA of heavy metal <\/a>as a genre is rebellious. It\u2019s about furiously resisting the status quo through wild musical release. <\/p>\n

Ultimately, it has to be, given the fact the very band who helped pioneer the genre, Black Sabbath, did so through songs that were not only sonically raucous, but lyrically vicious: \u201cEvil minds that plot destruction\u201d, Ozzy Osbourne famously sings in \u2018War Pigs\u2019. So, it\u2019s not only disappointing but also surprising to see Hetfield and Metallica turn their backs on such an ideology now that they\u2019ve left their working-class beginnings far behind. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s not speculation; Hetfield confirmed this during their recent performance at the Sphere, stating:\u00a0\u201cI just gotta say, Metallica is not here, like some other entertainers, to influence you with their bullshit, OK<\/a>?\u201d <\/p>\n

The frontman continued, \u201cWe are here, no bullshit \u2013 we\u2019re here to forget about all the outside shit, OK? Metallica\u2019s agenda is love, energy and heavy music, baby.\u201d It turns out the inside of the Sphere really is a bubble.<\/p>\n

Bruce Springsteen \u2013 Political \"What<\/p>\n

One of the biggest turning points in Bruce Springsteen<\/a>\u2019s life was when he heard Bob Dylan for the first time. \u201cI was very influenced by Dylan,\u201d he said. \u201cI always say he\u2019s the father of my country. He initially provided me with a picture of a country that I recognised. One that feels real, feels like the truth.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ever since hearing Dylan, Springsteen has written music and performed with the intention of sending a message. Music, for him, is the most political thing on the planet (besides politics itself), and so he uses it as a way to show his audience the world through his own eyes. His most recent comments about Donald Trump on the Land of Hope and Dreams Tour<\/a> are evidence of as much. Throughout the decades, no matter what is happening in the world, Springsteen has provided some form of commentary.<\/p>\n

Gene Simmons \u2013 Apolitical \"Gene<\/p>\n

Gene Simmons<\/a> absolutely reeks of hypocrisy of late, as he has tried to condemn artists who stick their heads above the parapet and fight for social justice. He said, \u201cBasically, shut the fuck up. Do your art and shut up. Nobody is interested in your opinions, that includes me, who I vote for, and who I like. Who do you think you are?\u201d<\/p>\n

Simmons\u2019s rant continued, \u201cPeople in America work hard for a living, and they don\u2019t want to be lectured to by people who live in mansions and drive Rolls-Royces. It\u2019s time for everyone in the entertainment industry to shut their pie-hole and just do your art, nobody cares what you think \u2013 I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is from a man who not only urged bands to avoid playing live shows in Russia and called out anti-Vaxxers during the pandemic, but also voiced resolute support of Israel while it commits a bloody genocide in Gaza. Clearly, Simmons needs to rephrase his argument<\/a> into something more along the lines of \u2018keep your mouth shut, so long as you disagree with me\u2019.<\/p>\n

Tom Morello \u2013 Political \"Tom<\/p>\n

I mean, the band he became famous for playing in is literally called Rage Against the Machine \u2013 what did you expect? Tom Morello<\/a> is one of those artists who embeds his opinions on politics and society into everything that he does. <\/p>\n

Even his guitar, the instrument with which he writes these conscious tunes, comes with its own message akin to Woody Guthrie\u2019s \u2018This machine kills fascists\u2019. Morello said that ever since he was young and started listening to the likes of punk and hip-hop, the idea of expressing your opinions within your music was made clear to him. <\/p>\n

\u201cI discovered the Clash and then Public Enemy that made me realise you could have great music that also reflected the ideas that were in my soul,\u201d he said in an exclusive interview with Far Out<\/a>. \u201cYou know, that kind of music is rebellion as self-care. And it\u2019s rock and roll or hip hop is self-defence in troubled times.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alice Cooper \u2013 Apolitical \"Alice<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be fooled by\u00a0Alice Cooper<\/a>\u2019s practical political jokes, where he consistently runs for president; ultimately, he\u2019s doing it to prove just how little he cares. Yes, despite being a rock and roll star through the Vietnam War, the questionable Nixon presidency and the rampantly commercial Reagan administration, Cooper seemingly sees nothing worth protesting against.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am extremely non-political,\u201d he told Rolling Stone in 2010. \u201cI go out of my way to be non-political<\/a>. I\u2019m probably the biggest moderate you know. When John Lennon and Harry Nilsson used to argue politics, I was sitting right in the middle of them, and I was the guy who was going, \u2018I don\u2019t care\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n

Ultimately, he believes that rock and roll is a source of escapism, which is admittedly true. But two truths can exist together, and so the genre\u2019s engagement with political injustice is equally important and, for a voice as popular as Cooper\u2019s, shouldn\u2019t be ignored.<\/p>\n

\"Joan<\/p>\n

Joan Jett<\/a> dispels any notion that a musician shouldn\u2019t be political. Throughout her career, her songs have come packed with emotion and meaning, which has allowed her to make a name for herself as one of the most socially conscious rock stars out there. <\/p>\n

\u201cSaying \u2018shut up and sing\u2019 has never really been what musicians or artists do,\u201d she said. \u201cFrom way on back.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is a mindset that Jett still carries in 2026 as well. In an interview with Far Out<\/a>, she said that she stays connected with everyday life, and that helps her write music, which she feels passionate about. \u201cI don\u2019t really do anything specific to stay inspired. I just stay plugged into life,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of crazy to put today\u2019s stuff in context, so that\u2019s been inspiring to want to get back to the music and do things that are joyful, even if sometimes they\u2019re about heavy subjects.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neal Schon \u2013 Apolitical \"Neal<\/p>\n

Neal Schon came close to choosing a side when he took legal aim at his bandmate Jonathan Cain over his public support for Donald Trump, but then quickly backpedalled. Rather than highlighting his disappointment with Cain\u2019s Trumpian leanings on humanitarian grounds, it was more on the basis of his defying\u00a0Journey<\/a>\u2019s band-wide rule of staying out of politics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were never going to affiliate politics with our music<\/a>, and we\u2019re never going to affiliate any one religion, not that we\u2019re unreligious. Everybody has their own religion,\u201d Schon said. \u201cBut why attach yourself into one portion of something? Why be red? Why be blue? Why be green?\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause you know what? You\u2019re going to lose half your fans when you do that. It\u2019s everybody\u2019s music. I just don\u2019t agree with it. I still don\u2019t. And it\u2019s probably one of the reasons that things are still a bit shaky,\u201d Schon noted.<\/p>\n

Graham Nash \u2013 Political \"Graham<\/p>\n

Throughout his career,\u00a0Graham Nash<\/a>\u00a0has always written music which is a reflection of the times in which he finds himself living. This means that a lot of his songs are personal, as they pay homage to whatever his current feelings are. <\/p>\n

However, he also references politics and makes his political opinions clear for all of those who listen. You can find them as recently as 2023 on the album Now, as he called out Maga on the track \u2018Golden Idols\u2019. <\/p>\n

In an interview with Far Out<\/a>, Nash spoke about how much he embraces politics within his music and said that the whole thing stems from a quote from Nina Simone. \u201cI really still think every day about a quote by Nina Simone,\u201d he told me, \u201cWho said \u2018Every artist, whether you\u2019re a songwriter or a piano player or a sculptor or a painter, you have to reflect the times in which we live\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran \u2013 Apolitical Well, Ed Sheeran would claim to be political, of course, for he was more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":806927,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6492,47816,16317,6225,6485,6486,15738,1120,2083,96,8250,28730,596,31107,85305,15739,229,2777,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-806926","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-2020s","tag-47816","tag-alice-cooper","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-bruce-springsteen","tag-design","tag-ed-sheeran","tag-entertainment","tag-gene-simmons","tag-graham-nash","tag-homepage","tag-james-hetfield","tag-joan-jett","tag-journey","tag-politics","tag-tom-morello","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=806926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/806926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/806927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=806926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=806926"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=806926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}