Ed Sheeran is trying to salvage his brand as the ordinary guy busker who became a stadium-filling superstar after a week from hell that saw him become a central player in global culture wars. Reacting to the furore over rapper Macklemore being ditched by promoters from his tour for saying “Free Palestine” on-stage, he has admitted to “mistakes” at his first show since the controversy exploded. Yet his carefully-constructed words were laced with hypocrisy. Why after all, can he no longer hide his feelings over Israel and Palestine? And if he never wanted to be an activist musician, why back Jeremy Corbyn and Ukraine so enthusiastically, wave Pride flags at concerts and display the Love Music Hate Racism logo on tour?
No wonder he was so emotional after shredding his reputation with one bad move. Everything has changed for him. Sheeran and the world of music will survive this storm, although it would be another blow after Brexit for this important sector – and for Britain’s invisible exports – if his career crashes given the scale of his success over the past 15 years. This row is significant, however, since it shines a spotlight on three crucial issues for our time: oligarchic power, Israel’s impunity and freedom of speech. There should be room for sensitivity, for understanding, for nuance, even for the moderation so unfashionable in an age of screeching social media on all of them. But as my Africa Express co-founder Damon Albarn said during a Gorillaz gig in Florida, there is no place for neutrality on such seismic issues.
Put aside the tedious discussion over whether pop stars should be political, which ignores many of its most epochal figures from Beethoven and Tchaikovsky through to Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Fela Kuti and Kendrick Lamar. Music is an art form that speaks to vast swathes of humanity. Some artists are entertainers; others see it as a medium to express their ideas on humanity, relationships and the world around them, often pushing at boundaries to the dismay of older generations. Meanwhile banning pop songs from radio has lost its power to control the narrative when fans find their music and idols through online algorithms.
Robert Kraft, the 85-year-old multibillionaire who accused Macklemore of “hate speech” and pressured Sheeran to drop his support act, tried to revive blacklisting after, according to Macklemore, corralling other stadium chiefs into supporting his stance. He symbolises much that has gone awry in liberal democracies as plutocrats – often highly unsavoury – get ever more embroiled in politics, thinking their immense wealth and success gives them a right to impose their will on others while often ignoring societal mores themselves. This onslaught has been turbocharged under Donald Trump – and Kraft typifies this President’s soiling of their nation: a lifelong Democrat who donated $1m for Trump’s first inauguration; found in a massage parlour; and exposed for owning an offshore company that could be used to legally avoid tax.
The tycoon still claims “faith, family, football and philanthropy” are the driving forces in his life – and insists his time on Earth is dedicated to “building bridges between all people.” Yet he is close to both the ultra-divisive Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister who has far-right hate merchants in his coalition cabinet and is accused of inflicting such suffering on Palestinians as collective punishment for Hamas’s atrocities that even Kraft’s son said last year he should be ousted.
Inevitably, a prominent US supporter of Israel, Elan Carr, the chief executive of the Israeli-American Council, jumped up to accuse Macklemore of “blood libel” for his saying “Free Palestine”, using the usual tactic to silence critics that fails to draw distinction between the country and its people by spraying around charges of antisemitism. Such accusations are losing their sting, however, especially with younger generations – including many on the right in the US and UK.
One result of this row is that more pop stars will shout “Free Palestine” from stages – whether they understand the complexities of the region, oppose censorship or just want to identify with a cool cause. In another layer of irony, Kraft previously posed as a free speech warrior when opposing US campus protests on Israel using words that must now resonate sharply for Sheeran. “Free speech means standing behind your words and accepting the consequences of your actions,” he said. Sadly, as this saga shows once again, this pivotal debate for democracy over the limits on public discourse all too often descends into crude tribalism with prominent voices ignoring transgressions by their own tribe and failing to back opponents facing cancellation.
Sheeran concluded his speech in Philadelphia by saying his songs are about “love, hope and unity” – and of course, whether he wants to sing syrupy love songs or rap polemical protest is entirely his call. Yet even these bland words explode the fallacy of posing as neutral – and this is not simply down to the power of social media. For how can you hold such views yet ignore how oligarchs are corrupting democracy under deliberately divisive leaders, how Israel is accused by the UN of committing war crimes and how censorship is being imposed? Any artist should feel free to argue the opposite, of course – saying stadium owners have absolute right to ban artists and Israel is just defending itself.
Sheeran was put in a very difficult position. He is only a pop singer, not a great philosopher or top politician, and friends in the industry attest to his down to earth decency. Yet I have more respect for Boy George for daring to release his terrible pro-Israel song – opening with the lines, “You say genocide, I say war/When you’re attacked, that’s what the army’s for” – than for this spineless superstar from Suffolk who invited an overtly-political performer on his tour, then refused to back him when pushed into a corner by powerful billionaires. He shows that while it can be costly to take sides, it might be even worse to duck the big issues of our era. There is no room for neutrality – especially on the highest platforms when the stakes are so high.