U2 have spoken out about the controversy surrounding Macklemore‘s removal from Ed Sheeran‘s US tour, insisting that billionaire venue owners have no right to censor musicians.
The Irish band discussed the row in a new interview with BBC News, with guitarist The Edge voicing his support for Macklemore while defending Sheeran against criticism.
“We totally support Macklemore’s right as an artist to say what he wanted to say,” he explained.
“I don’t think Ed should be vilified,” he added, acknowledging the difficult position the singer had faced.
The Edge also praised the younger musicians who withdrew from Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with Macklemore, arguing that they had taken a stand in defence of another artist’s freedom of expression, which he considered the overriding issue in the dispute.
Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. was similarly emphatic, adding: “Artists can choose whether they want to be, um, politically active or not. It’s a human right”.
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“But we as a band will fight for the right to speak your mind as long as it doesn’t incite violence. And even if we disagree with it or don’t like it, nobody has a right – no billionaire, no promoter, no owner has the right to censor anybody. Um, but they will definitely not be censoring us ever.”
Their comments relate to the controversy that erupted in September when Macklemore was dropped from Sheeran’s US ‘Loop Tour’.
During two concerts at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, the rapper called for the protection of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank before declaring “Free Palestine” and performing his protest song ‘Hind’s Hall’.
The remarks prompted criticism from the Israeli-American Council and billionaire Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, who objected to Macklemore performing at Sheeran’s subsequent concerts.
Promoters subsequently removed the rapper from the tour, prompting Sheeran’s backing band and remaining support acts, including Finneas, Lukas Graham and Beoga, to withdraw in solidarity.
Sheeran later denied being complicit in the decision, explaining that he wanted his concerts to remain places of safety and sanctuary rather than political forums.
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The interview follows U2’s previous comments on the controversy last month, when Bono revealed that Sheeran had been reluctant to become involved in politics when collaborating with U2 on their new song ‘Yours Eternally’.
“You’re not going to get me into politics, are you?” Bono recalled Sheeran asking him during the recording process.
According to Bono, Sheeran subsequently explained: “Yeah, but I just want to keep my thing free.”
Meanwhile, Macklemore recently completed three sold-out ‘Free Palestine’ benefit concerts in Dublin, Paris and London.
The shows featured guests including Hozier, Kneecap, Aurora, Greta Thunberg and Paloma Faith, with proceeds supporting organisations working with Palestinians.
Macklemore has since claimed that nine major US arenas refused to host further benefit concerts, accusing venue owners of withdrawing available dates once they learned the purpose of the shows.
Meanwhile, U2 are preparing to release their 16th studio album ‘Carnaval De Luz’ on November 13, ahead of their return to full-scale touring in 2027.
