Francesca Rudkin: Ed Sheeran was caught between a rock and a hard place

Ed Sheeran found himself between a rock and a hard place this week, with a rather uncomfortable question hanging over his US tour - can you be the nice guy who keeps politics out of your concerts while allowing someone else on your stage to talk about politics?

The answer for Sheeran, after a week of intense global media pressure, having his songs removed from playing on Ireland’s biggest commercial radio station, and making a $US 2 million pledge to Palestinian causes, is a clear no.  

You probably know the story - Sheeran’s support act rapper Macklemore was dropped from the remaining US dates of Sheeran’s Loop Tour after making pro-Palestinian comments during performances. According to Sheeran, several venues told the tour promoter they would pull their venues for shows if Macklemore remained on the bill. Sheeran says the promoter made the final decision, not him, despite his attempts to find a compromise.

All four remaining support acts - Finneas, Lukas Graham, Aaron Rowe and Sheeran’s own backing band, Beoga pulled out in solidarity with Macklemore. Their reasoning was pretty straightforward: they didn't want to continue if a fellow artist had effectively been silenced for speaking out about Palestine. 

And once again, we find ourselves having a conversation about when and how a celebrity or artist should or shouldn’t use their platform.  

Sheeran has explained why he generally avoids politics. 

He says his audiences include young people and children from all backgrounds, and people come to his shows for unity, joy, escapism and somewhere everyone feels welcome. He says he prefers to use his platform as a “place of safety and sanctuary”, keeping conversations open rather than turning concerts into political forums.

Fair enough. And it feels very Ed Sheeran. His brand is essentially the musical equivalent of a warm cup of tea. He's familiar, friendly, inoffensive, and hugely successful. The bloke with the guitar who can bring 60,000 people together without asking them to agree on anything except that Shape of You is a lovely song. There is a big commercial value in being that guy.

And that's a perfectly legitimate position to take. Artists don't have a moral obligation to turn every concert into a political rally. Celebrity doesn't automatically equal wisdom. Having 20 million Instagram followers doesn't give you a degree in Middle Eastern history. If your level of influence is disproportionate to your knowledge of the issues, then it’s best to say nothing. Sometimes a celebrity talking about a complicated issue can reduce something desperately complicated to a slogan.

But nor do artists have to be politically neutral. Macklemore clearly doesn't think he should be. Neither do the artists who've now walked away from Sheeran’s tour.

• Perspective with Heather du Plessis-Allan: What could Ed Sheeran have done here?
• 'Free Palestine': Macklemore asks Kraft to match $1m donation
• 'Sheer madness': Stars react after Ed Sheeran drops Macklemore from tour

Famous faces should not be chastised for using their platforms to inform or  encourage awareness of the issues facing those who are less fortunate. If they want to be a political commentator beyond their day job, they should use their platform responsibly, whether that's speaking, listening, raising money, supporting a cause, or simply encouraging people to learn more.  

Ultimately it’s up to the audience to determine the power of celebrity endorsement. You’d like to think their contribution would play a role in an ongoing wider conversation.

Unfortunately for Ed Sheeran, some issues seem too polarised for conversations. He got the worse of both worlds. He didn’t want to be part of this but couldn’t avoid it, and once he was involved anything he did was going to be interpreted as picking a side, and for many it was going to be the wrong side.  

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