That is a ridiculously privileged thing to say. It brings awareness where a lot of media outlets are condemning people for speaking up about it and refusing to acknowledge it in some cases.

Hundreds of people are dying a DAY in Gaza. It's not a case of being quiet, and politics should be left out of it, actually anyone with any sort of platform SHOULD be talking about it. They still get to enjoy the music, they're not being lectured, if brings awareness and gets people to understand the absolute atrocities that are going on right now.

You don't need to agree with what anyone with a platform says about their politics and beliefs, if you want to ignore it and only focus on the music then that's fair enough but nobody should ever be silenced when they want to speak out on something. I admire anyone with the guts to stand up and speak out on what they think is right. Everything is political whether you realise it or not, I don't even think it's possible to be apolitical in this day and age, to me that just screams "I don't want to pick a side in case I get backlash." Personally, I want to know that the artists I support share my views on the big things.

Oh my GOD, why is this being portrayed as if MM made a 60-minute lecture-presentation about politics at a concert? It was a few seconds of a good message that should NOT cause such a strange antisocial reaction. Like Among Us people say, that's a self report.

16 minutes ago, Jack said:

That is a ridiculously privileged thing to say. It brings awareness where a lot of media outlets are condemning people for speaking up about it and refusing to acknowledge it in some cases.

Hundreds of people are dying a DAY in Gaza. It's not a case of being quiet, and politics should be left out of it, actually anyone with any sort of platform SHOULD be talking about it. They still get to enjoy the music, they're not being lectured, if brings awareness and gets people to understand the absolute atrocities that are going on right now.

Well it's clearly something you're passionate about and that's fair enough but not everyone at that concert is going to share your point of view. Even if they do at least some of them will be at the concert to get away from the harsh realities of life to enjoy the music, not be subjected to them.

15 minutes ago, Lindsey. said:

You don't need to agree with what anyone with a platform says about their politics and beliefs, if you want to ignore it and only focus on the music then that's fair enough but nobody should ever be silenced when they want to speak out on something. I admire anyone with the guts to stand up and speak out on what they think is right. Everything is political whether you realise it or not, I don't even think it's possible to be apolitical in this day and age, to me that just screams "I don't want to pick a side in case I get backlash." Personally, I want to know that the artists I support share my views on the big things.

I'm not apolitical and I listen to a number of artists who quite vocally have different political views to myself but I couldn't care less about their views. All I care about is whether the musics any good or not.

Like Pav said, have tou watched what Macklemore actually said?! If people like you are bothered by that despite what you think, I worry for you. He is simply raising awareness to a very important subject.

And yes, I am passionate about a genocide. Everyone should be really, that shouldn't be a foreign concept.

14 minutes ago, My Random Music said:

I thought this topic would have a discussion about the Ed Sheeran tour.

The fact of the matter is the only thing that unites thousands of people at a music event is the music itself. By making political statements you're only going to divide the crowd. Everyone has their own political views and they're not going to change their mind just because of something Macklemore says, particularly when it's Ed Sheeran they've come to see rather than him.

If it had been at a pro-Palestine event then fair enough but this was an Ed Sheeran concert and politics should stay out of it. People are there for the music, not to be lectured. I personally hate it when artists make political statements at their gigs whether I agree with them or not. I just think shut up and get on with the music.

This is just ignorant - perhaps unintentionally so, but still - to the climate we're in today and how people view or respond to artists, public figures, etc. Sure, there are going to be people in a crowd that are only there for the music or a night out and there's nothing wrong with that, but rightly or wrongly and whether everybody agrees with it or not there are also a large number of people that do look to their favourite artists and celebrities to speak up on what matters to them, and in this instance something that has had and continues to have drastic, far-reaching effects worldwide. Nobody's being lectured, nobody's being spoken down to. They can be small but important invitations to educate yourself, to see what's going on in the world around you, or feel inspired to take action yourself and contribute to doing something meaningful to help if you can.

Huge respect to Macklemore for not allowing himself to be silenced amidst all of this, continuing to share insight about what's happening to Palestinians, and challenging those in a position to, to do the right thing.

It's really very sad to see a topic with so much weight being completely minimised by some on here to meaningless charts back and fro, taking jabs, being deliberately contrarian, and feeling the urge to jump to Ed Sheeran's defence (spoiler: he's not gonna come running to thank you x) when the criticisms directed at him feel very much earned, particularly following that piss poor, spineless statement.

Everybody has said pretty much everything I could've said in a much more eloquent way.

One of my biggest frustrations amongst this is the idea of Ed Sheeran being apolitical and him representing an apolitical crowd, because absolutely nobody told him to "shut up and get on with the music" when he was performing at Concert for Ukraine in 2022. And there lies the biggest question - if you didn't have a problem with it then, why do you have a problem with it now? What makes one a cause worth fighting for and makes the other worth turning a blind eye for? That goes for everyone, not Ed Sheeran specifically, but he's a figurehead of an example of a hypocrisy that has irritated me for many years now.

I feel like this thread should probably be spun off into its own one about the tour at this point - in News or Music Lounge?

6 minutes ago, Calum said:

This is just ignorant - perhaps unintentionally so, but still - to the climate we're in today and how people view or respond to artists, public figures, etc. Sure, there are going to be people in a crowd that are only there for the music or a night out and there's nothing wrong with that, but rightly or wrongly and whether everybody agrees with it or not there are also a large number of people that do look to their favourite artists and celebrities to speak up on what matters to them, and in this instance something that has had and continues to have drastic, far-reaching effects worldwide. Nobody's being lectured, nobody's being spoken down to. They can be small but important invitations to educate yourself, to see what's going on in the world around you, or feel inspired to take action yourself and contribute to doing something meaningful to help if you can.

Huge respect to Macklemore for not allowing himself to be silenced amidst all of this, continuing to share insight about what's happening to Palestinians, and challenging those in a position to, to do the right thing.

It's really very sad to see a topic with so much weight being completely minimised by some on here to meaningless charts back and fro, taking jabs, being deliberately contrarian, and feeling the urge to jump to Ed Sheeran's defence (spoiler: he's not gonna come running to thank you x) when the criticisms directed at him feel very much earned, particularly following that piss poor, spineless statement.

There's a time and a place for artists and celebrities to air their views but a concert where the audience will have differing political views is not the place to do it.

I'm not expecting a thank you from Ed Sheeran, I'm not a fan of his music in the slightest. Can't say I find anything wrong with his statement though.

18 minutes ago, Jack said:

Like Pav said, have tou watched what Macklemore actually said?! If people like you are bothered by that despite what you think, I worry for you. He is simply raising awareness to a very important subject.

And yes, I am passionate about a genocide. Everyone should be really, that shouldn't be a foreign concept.

No I haven't watched it but I get the gist.

3 minutes ago, WhoOdyssey said:

I feel like this thread should probably be spun off into its own one about the tour at this point - in News or Music Lounge?

It’s still pretty on topic here I think.

Though I did giggle at the thought of this post being the equivalent of ‘shut up and get on with the music’ 😂

1 minute ago, T Boy said:

It’s still pretty on topic here I think.

Though I did giggle at the thought of this post being the equivalent of ‘shut up and get on with the music’ 😂

Certainly not, just my categorising brain switched on 😂

52 minutes ago, My Random Music said:

I thought this topic would have a discussion about the Ed Sheeran tour.

The fact of the matter is the only thing that unites thousands of people at a music event is the music itself. By making political statements you're only going to divide the crowd. Everyone has their own political views and they're not going to change their mind just because of something Macklemore says, particularly when it's Ed Sheeran they've come to see rather than him.

If it had been at a pro-Palestine event then fair enough but this was an Ed Sheeran concert and politics should stay out of it. People are there for the music, not to be lectured. I personally hate it when artists make political statements at their gigs whether I agree with them or not. I just think shut up and get on with the music.

As the point has been made, Ed Sheeran has been political. He supported Ukraine on the stage. Now he bends to the whims of a rich stadium owner. That calls into question his motives and in turn how people see his art.

27 minutes ago, My Random Music said:

Well it's clearly something you're passionate about and that's fair enough but not everyone at that concert is going to share your point of view. Even if they do at least some of them will be at the concert to get away from the harsh realities of life to enjoy the music, not be subjected to them.

I'm not apolitical and I listen to a number of artists who quite vocally have different political views to myself but I couldn't care less about their views. All I care about is whether the musics any good or not.

Artists very frequently use the stage to make their beliefs known, and that is a good thing! In fact I think nearly every concert I've been to in the last few years has come with the artists making a Free Palestine stand and I love that. Nowhere exists without the influence of the world, and musicians are in a unique position to act as thought influencers, it's not as if they don't do it in their music already.

Just now, WhoOdyssey said:

Certainly not, just my categorising brain switched on 😂

😂 just the timing of the post.

Back on topic though, it’s really important for artists to have a voice and use it. The fact is a lot of ordinary people just ignore what’s going on in the world if it doesn’t directly involve them and we should be encouraging people to care about important things.

2 minutes ago, Iz様 🌟 said:

As the point has been made, Ed Sheeran has been political. He supported Ukraine on the stage. Now he bends to the whims of a rich stadium owner. That calls into question his motives and in turn how people see his art.

Artists very frequently use the stage to make their beliefs known, and that is a good thing! In fact I think nearly every concert I've been to in the last few years has come with the artists making a Free Palestine stand and I love that. Nowhere exists without the influence of the world, and musicians are in a unique position to act as thought influencers, it's not as if they don't do it in their music already.

Concert for Ukraine is different though, the audience are there for the cause so they can make political statements to their hearts content there. If you're not siding with Ukraine you won't be at that concert but you may like Ed Sheeran's music and go to one of his concerts where you can unite with people of differing views via the music.

I know artists do use the stage to air their beliefs and like I said in a previous post that's a bad thing. My views come from my own research, not influenced by what a musician has to say.

I'm not going to lock the thread because I think there's a lot of decent debate happening here - but I am going to ask that we quit with the personal remarks and any unnecessary posts about niggles with each other, they're just derailing the conversation.

2 minutes ago, My Random Music said:

Concert for Ukraine is different though, the audience are there for the cause so they can make political statements to their hearts content there. If you're not siding with Ukraine you won't be at that concert but you may like Ed Sheeran's music and go to one of his concerts where you can unite with people of differing views via the music.

I know artists do use the stage to air their beliefs and like I said in a previous post that's a bad thing. My views come from my own research, not influenced by what a musician has to say.

See I don't want to implicitly drag 'your own research' but in most cases when someone says that, they are just being influenced by someone else, whether that's a newspaper, a billionaire, a politically active writer or influencer, or it could be someone you've talked to personally, and most of those ways are more problematic when it comes to forming one's opinion than a musician doing a 2 minute stump speech at the start of their set. Your opinions are not divinely conceived.

Which is somewhat why this becoming a huge news story benefits no one except Macklemore and the Palestinian cause by giving him an even better, public stage to make the same pro-Palestinian speech but with the eyes of the news cycle on him. Robert Kraft's need for control over what people are allowed to say and think on public stages is the big story here, and I would argue that he is not right to be banning anyone from making these sorts of unobjectionable comments prior to concerts.

Why should an artist not ask for the killing of palestinians to stop after a song that literally adresses the very same thing? Why is that such a harsh political statement to make for some? It's like saying Gaga shouldn't yell "LGBTQ RIGHTS" after singing Born This Way....

I get that some are just there for the music but if a statement like that ruins a concert, I'm gonna need them to check their moral compass.

Artists release protest songs every day (St!nk herself even did so with Dear Mr. President), wave prideflags every day, speak up about ICE, racism, extreme right/left, LGBTQ rights, injustice in general. Should those things never happen because someone might feel uncomfortable about it and might enjoy the music less? How is speaking up about Palestine any different?

Things will never change without people with a big reach speaking up and raising awareness, keeping the news out there. Cause let's be honest. Gaza has been buried in the news by articles about Trump's losing war in Iran.

Once again, I applaud Macklemore for standing out loud and donate the entire $1m of his net earning from The Loop Tour to six Palestinian organizations as it was previously mentioned here.

On the other hand, this is just vil and there's not a way that Ed could turn it back and fix it honestly. I mean, yes, $2m in donations sounds good on paper, but... 'to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis'?!? Come on! We're talking about Robert Kraft, who is Pro-Israel, so basically this PR statement clearly indicates that the money (which, coincidentally, doesn't show which are the organizations the money will go to) are going to benefit Israel instead of Palestine, unless they're going to clear that up and I doubt they're going to do that.

‘Humanitarian crisis’ is a crazy non-take. Typical rich US boomer response. One-upping the other person and being as vague as possible. He didn’t even say he actually donated anything, he probably never will.

Nor did he say where it was donated to so that it can be verified, just an empty suggestion.