Musicians and celebrities at Ed Sheeran's level are not bystanders to politics, they have been remarkably effective in bringing awareness of political issues to the public. This is something Ed Sheeran himself knows, having performed at "Concert for Ukraine", as well as making public statements to bring awareness to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Sixty thousand people in one field, an audience that arrives already trusting the voice coming out of the speakers. That is why stadium owners care what gets said from those stages, why the Israeli-American Council petitioned to have Macklemore removed from one, and why Macklemore told the MetLife crowd on opening night that playing rooms this size was the point.

What he was saying is not contested, complex, or any other word someone wants to throw in to deny a genocide. In September 2025 a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Two years later, the most famous pop musician in Britain stood alone at Lincoln Financial Field, having lost his support acts, his band and his second stage, and again failed to recognise that genocide. Here is what he got wrong, and what he got right.

Six things Ed Sheeran got wrong

1. Genocide is not "complex".
Sheeran got as far to say "catastrophic and unjustifiable" when addressing the situation in Gaza, while claiming the situation was "the most complex political issue on the planet", like with his previous attempt to address this, he used an idea commonly shared by those who support the continuation of the Genocide, the idea that this is "complex". The UN declared it is genocide, that is not complex, and Ed Sheeran is not in a position to overrule the UN, not now and not ever.