Commentary: By dumping pro-Palestinian Macklemore from his tour, apolitical Ed Sheeran is suddenly political

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Set us as preferred Ed Sheeran, one of the most inoffensive pop artists of the 2010s and ’20s, is feeling the heat for his “apolitical” stance — which is all of a sudden very political.The “Shape of You” singer-songwriter has been on the defense since Monday, when Seattle rapper Macklemore announced that he had been dropped from Sheeran’s Loop tour.The dismissal stems from pro-Palestinian remarks Macklemore made on stage while opening for Sheeran earlier this month.

Now four more acts have withdrawn from Sheeran’s tour in solidarity with Macklemore and his message to “Free Palestine.”In a 12-page Instagram statement, Macklemore (whose real name is Benjamin Haggerty) alleged that New England Patriots and stadium owner Robert Kraft asked Sheeran to drop Macklemore from the tour.According to Macklemore, Sheeran told him during a phone call that “Kraft had rallied some of the other stadium owners and collectively they gave him an ultimatum: If Macklemore stays on the tour, you will not be allowed to play in our venues.” The Kraft family owns Gillette Stadium, where Sheeran is slated to play later this month.“[Sheeran] also told me that the words ‘Free Palestine’ and the image of the Palestinian flag were hurtful to a lot of people he spoke with,” Macklemore wrote.“I told him that if those words were more offensive than tens of thousands of Palestinian children being killed by Israel, then there was a fundamental disconnect between where those people stood and where I stood.

But he couldn’t get past his public facing, ‘I don’t take sides.’”Sheeran responded, writing that the fans attending his shows “do not expect a political forum.” “I choose to use my fame and platform to be a place of safety and sanctuary, to maintain diplomacy and keep conversations open, not closed…”It’s...