Ed Sheeran, seeking to stay out of politics(远离政治), has become, in this moment, the most political artist in the world. And in trying to leave himself room to manoeuvre(回旋余地), he has backed himself into a corner(把自己逼进死角). Since the rapper Macklemore was dropped(被除名) as a support act(暖场嘉宾) on Sheeran’s Loop tour on Monday, every other opening act has pulled out(退出). Finneas O’Connell kept it brief on Tuesday: “Artists must not be silenced(被噤声) when they speak up for(为……发声) the oppressed. I stand with Palestine and its people.” Aaron Rowe was already out, saying: “I cannot stand by(袖手旁观) and allow billionaires to use their position of power to silence … rightful(正当的) voices.”
艾德·希兰本想远离政治，此刻却成了全世界最具政治色彩的音乐人。他本想给自己留出回旋余地，结果却把自己逼进了死角。周一，说唱歌手麦克尔莫尔被从希兰的Loop巡演暖场名单中除名，此后所有其他暖场嘉宾都相继退出。芬尼亚斯·奥康奈尔周二只说了简短几句：“艺术家为受压迫者发声时，绝不能被噤声。我支持巴勒斯坦及其人民。”亚伦·罗早已退出，他说：“我无法袖手旁观，任由亿万富翁利用手中的权力去压制……正当的声音。”
Beoga, Sheeran’s actual backing band, then pulled out, along with the Danish band Lukas Graham, who probably made the mildest statement, managing to not even mention any countries: “We should be able to speak about war, about civilians being killed, about children who deserve to grow up. Wherever they live. Whatever flag flies over them.”(希兰真正的伴奏乐队Beoga随后也退出了，丹麦乐队卢卡斯·格雷厄姆同样退出。后者的声明大概是最温和的，甚至没有提到任何国家：“我们应该能够谈论战争，谈论平民被杀，谈论那些理应长大的孩子。无论他们住在哪里，无论他们头顶飘着哪面旗帜。”)
希兰真正的伴奏乐队Beoga随后也退出了，丹麦乐队卢卡斯·格雷厄姆同样退出。后者的声明大概是最温和的，甚至没有提到任何国家：“我们应该能够谈论战争，谈论平民被杀，谈论那些理应长大的孩子。无论他们住在哪里，无论他们头顶飘着哪面旗帜。”
Sheeran said the decision to drop Macklemore was entirely down to(取决于) venue owners and promoters(演出主办方), adding that there was a reason he didn’t talk about politics on stage: “My audience includes young people, often children, of all backgrounds.” Both statements sound weak, but more importantly, it is not true that Sheeran doesn’t take political stances(表明政治立场). He has taken part in a fundraising gig(募捐演出) for Ukrainians, telling them, “I love you, I stand with you”; in 2017 he outed himself as(公开自称) a “Corbynista fanboy(科尔宾的铁杆粉丝)” (TM the Sun), and has been a vocal supporter(大声支持者) of LGBTQI+ rights, on stage and off, throughout his career. More specifically, it seems unlikely he didn’t know the views of his support acts when he chose them: Macklemore had a song about Hind Rajab(2024年被以军杀害的5岁巴勒斯坦女孩), the five-year-old killed by the IDF in 2024, on his set list; Beoga are founding members of Irish Artists for Palestine(爱尔兰艺术家支持巴勒斯坦组织).
希兰说，除名麦克尔莫尔完全取决于场馆所有者和主办方，并补充说他不愿在舞台上谈政治是有原因的：“我的观众里有各种背景的年轻人，常常还有孩子。”这两种说法都显得苍白，但更重要的是，希兰并非不表明政治立场。他曾参加为乌克兰人举办的募捐演出，对他们说“我爱你们，我和你们站在一起”；2017年他自称是“科尔宾的铁杆粉丝”（《太阳报》语），而且整个职业生涯中，无论台上台下，他都一直大声支持LGBTQI+权利。更具体地说，他当初挑选暖场嘉宾时，不太可能不知道他们的观点：麦克尔莫尔的演出曲目里有一首关于欣德·拉贾卜的歌，这个五岁孩子2024年被以色列国防军杀害；Beoga则是“爱尔兰艺术家支持巴勒斯坦”组织的创始成员。