Culture

Ed Sheeran Calls Gaza War 'Catastrophic' Amid Tour Turmoil

Is calling out Nova but not Hamas a cowardly half-truth or is demanding a scripted apology the real authoritarian instinct?

Published SEP 20

Ed Sheeran Calls Gaza War 'Catastrophic' Amid Tour Turmoil

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Above: Ed Sheeran poses for photos with fans at Portman Road, Ipswich, on May 2. Image credit: Nigel French/PA Images/Getty Images

The Spin

Right narrative

Calling out the Nova festival massacre while staying silent on the families slaughtered, burned and dragged into Gaza as hostages is a cowardly half-truth. Naming Hamas as the group that started this and still holds Gaza hostage would cost a pop career, so the easy target gets picked instead. Caving to a screaming mob at a concert only rewards the bullying.

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Left narrative

Saying Gaza is "catastrophic" while still avoiding the word genocide, still declining to say "Free Palestine," and still not calling out Kraft by name isn't candor, it's damage control. Sheeran had a chance to stand behind an artist punished for speaking the truth and caved to pressure instead. Silence dressed up as nuance is not neutral when tens of thousands of children have been killed.

TheWrap

Cynical narrative

Ed Sheeran's apology was so "heartfelt" that he read it from a teleprompter. He called Gaza's crisis "catastrophic and unjustifiable," but omitted "genocide" or "Free Palestine." He condemned Oct. 7, but fell short of blaming Hamas for Israel's subsequent action. One can only conclude lawyers and Robert Kraft vetted every line. The episode shows how any statement on the conflict faces competing tests from every direction.

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