Bob Geldof has defended Ed Sheeran amid the ongoing controversy surrounding Macklemore’s removal from the singer’s US tour, while directing his criticism towards the promoters and venues involved.

The controversy erupted earlier this month after Macklemore made pro-Palestinian comments and led a crowd in chants of ‘Free Palestine’ during his performance at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium.

He was subsequently removed from the remaining dates of Ed’s Loop Tour after venues objected to him performing.

Ed has insisted that the decision was made by the promoter and venues rather than himself, and Geldof has now made it clear that he does not believe the singer should be blamed.

‘Shame on Kraft, and shame on the promoters. Shame on them! But not shame on Sheeran,’ Geldof told the Belfast Telegraph.

The Boomtown Rats frontman was referring to Robert Kraft, the billionaire owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, who has been linked to the decision surrounding Macklemore’s removal.

Geldof also defended Ed’s decision not to publicly take a political stance on the conflict, arguing that artists should be free to decide when and how they use their platforms.

‘An artist has the absolute right to choose what he wants to say and when he wants to say it,’ he said.

‘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.’

Geldof compared the situation to The Rolling Stones, saying he would not expect Mick Jagger to use the band’s concerts to discuss Gaza simply because he has a public platform.

‘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,’ he said.

However, Geldof was also keen to praise Macklemore for taking a public stance, as well as the artists who subsequently chose to walk away from Ed’s tour.

‘I really admire Macklemore and the guys who walked, because it’s a hard ask,’ he said.

‘They are making a big quid for the first time in their lives, y’know, and he just said, “No, mate”.’

Geldof went on to describe Ed as ‘a thinking man’ and ‘a good man’, while arguing that both singers should have been supported by those organising their shows.

Geldof also drew on his own experience of the anti-apartheid movement, recalling the boycott of Sun City in South Africa. While he participated in the boycott, he said he did not believe it was his place to dictate what other artists should do.

The Boomtown Rats frontman has spent decades using his platform to campaign on global issues, most famously helping to launch Band Aid in 1984 to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.

That was followed by the huge Live Aid concerts in 1985, which were held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia and broadcast around the world to raise funds and awareness for the famine.

Geldof later returned to the cause of global poverty with Live 8 in 2005, organising a series of concerts aimed at putting pressure on world leaders to tackle poverty and increase aid to developing countries.

His comments came just a day after Ed Sheeran became emotional as he addressed the crowd at his first show since the Macklemore controversy.

Earlier this week, support acts including Aaron Rowe, Beoga, Finneas and Lukas Graham pulled out of the tour in solidarity with Macklemore, after it emerged he had been dropped from the remaining US dates over his ‘Free Palestine’ speech.

On Saturday, September 19, Ed returned to the stage for the first time since the backlash, performing at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.

The 35-year-old addressed the controversy during the show, admitting that he had been forced to make difficult decisions.

‘I’ve had to take and make difficult decisions, and I am making mistakes and I’m so, so sorry for them,’ Ed told the crowd.

‘I don’t want to disappoint fans, and I’ve never wanted to be an activist musician, but this has put me in the middle of an important and passionate argument about freedom of speech and the most complex political issue on the planet.’

Ed said the October 7, 2023 attacks on Israel were horrific and described the situation in Gaza as ‘catastrophic and unjustifiable’.

‘My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives,’ he said.

The singer went on to thank fans for turning out, insisting that his concerts remain a place where people with differing opinions can come together.

‘This concert is still a place where everyone is welcome and everyone here can stand beside people that have opposing views, and everyone can stand beside people that they don’t agree with on everything, but they can all agree on singing these songs.’

Ed became emotional towards the end of the concert as he opened up about feeling ‘abandoned’ amid the backlash.

‘Everyone is telling me to cancel, and I’m feeling all of my friends and family and people I know abandon me, and I look at the end of the week, and I see 50,000 people who haven’t abandoned.’

‘The world is a scary place right now. America is a scary place right now. This gives hope.’