Ed Sheeran is a coward in Gaza. Can you blame him?

Taking a closer look at top-tier popular music stars is like measuring the coastline. What we initially thought was one solid mass that could be measured from A to B is more like a constantly changing mess of small changes. The status of the supposed A-listers is rapidly declining, while new entrants are carving out their own section on the beach. The only way to avoid getting lost in the fractal of who’s attractive and who’s not is to set good standards and stick to them. For pop music, that reference point is the stadium.

Fans use the terms “arena” and “stadium” somewhat interchangeably, but the latter is several orders of magnitude larger. Only the biggest names can fill multiple stadiums in one tour. olivia rodrigo play arena, taylor swift play in the stadium. John Mellencamp plays in arenas, Springsteen plays in stadiums. Ella Langley is trying to break the record It marked the longest consecutive week as Billboard’s No. 1 song in the US. She still plays venues three to four times smaller than before. Garth Brooks.

Against all odds, Ed Sheeran is a stadium artist. The British singer caused a stir. Gentle Folk Hits About Drug Addicts and made one of them Few entries In the canon of “The Wedding’s First Dance,” which was released during my lifetime. Aside from the occasional clumsy club pastiche, Sheeran is just a balladeer who happens to play in the same room. philadelphia eagles. He realizes how unlikely it is, so he’s not going to spoil it.

For proof, just look at Sheeran’s reaction after billionaire Robert Kraft restricted his current U.S. tour. New England Patriots owner strongly opposes Seattle rapper opening for Sheeran’s tour Macklemoreexpressed support for the Palestinian cause from the stage during the first two shows. The tour’s promoter, Messina Tour Group, then dropped Macklemore from the remaining dates after Kraft ordered that the “Thrift Shop” rapper could not appear at Gillette Stadium (owned by Kraft) outside Boston.

Mr. Kraft cited Mr. Macklemore’s “recent actions and extensive history of anti-Semitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and harmful to the Jewish community.” statement Shared with Rolling Stone Magazine.

Macklemore suggested that Kraft may have rallied other stadium ownership groups to get Macklemore off the tour entirely. Messina’s statement to Rolling Stone seemed to confirm that, claiming that multiple “venues” objected to Macklemore’s attendance.

in post Macklemore refused to slam the headline star on Instagram. He said he considered Sheeran a “brother” and added that Kraft’s desire to boycott had put Sheeran in a “messed up position.” Sheeran provided no such warmth his own statement. Instead, he showed no support for either Israelis or Palestinians, and was keen to distance himself from the controversy as much as possible. He said he wanted to avoid disappointing his American fans, adding that those who know him personally “know (his) heart.”

“I’m not complicit. I have personal views on this devastating conflict. Just because I choose not to speak publicly doesn’t mean I don’t have them or that I don’t care,” he said. “It also doesn’t mean I don’t support the cause in a personal way.”

In some ways, Sheeran’s reaction was eerily similar to Kraft’s. Despite Kraft’s eagerness to keep Macklemore out of his stadium, he tried to be conciliatory to both sides, as if to distance himself from the obvious consequences of his actions. He said his decision was “not meant to alleviate the suffering of innocent Palestinians or deny anyone the right to advocate on their behalf.” Hadn’t he ever done just that?

“Too many lives have been lost and there has been too much suffering,” Kraft continued, but sharing only selected information and ignoring Hamas’ actions is dishonest and will only foster further discord and hatred. He concluded that he wanted “peace for all peoples.”

Unlike Kraft, Sheeran did not cause last week’s events. But it’s difficult or impossible to read his own statements as anything other than a big, old-fashioned evasion, which is the worst way to follow money while refusing to express an opinion or make a choice.

There may be an alternate timeline where Sheeran refuses to watch his fellow artists get bullied from touring. Despite the considerable inertia built into a touring show of this size, Sheeran holds his own. He could have refused to appear. It would be a very difficult and difficult choice, not to mention a very expensive one. Later, Sheeran himself faces the aftermath of a broken contract and a bruised billionaire’s self-esteem. Will he be invited back for gigs as lucrative as this one? In fact, can he still be a stadium artist?

To be honest, you have to feel at least a little bit sorry for Sheeran. He has a lot more to consider than just a well-stuffed bank account. Canceling his tour would cut off the source of income for all of his support staff, who have put their family lives on hold to travel for shows. The limited number of shows in the United States meant that many of Sheeran’s fans traveled long distances to see him play. Shutting it down will spread a lot of bad vibes. It was definitely a difficult decision, but in the end he was willing to let his boss make the decision.

Is that unfair? perhaps. But it’s hard not to read Sheeran’s comments in that light, especially after the opening act was another Irish musician, Aaron Lowe. announced He said he was leaving the tour to protest against billionaires silencing “the legitimate voices of those who oppose Israel’s genocide.”

“I do not take this decision lightly. Ed is my friend and he has changed my life,” Rowe said in a statement. “But as Irish people, we know all too well about genocide, forced starvation and violent occupation.”

To be fair to Sheeran, it’s much easier to break out of the sidelines on one leg of a global tour than risk your entire itinerary being wasted. Artists who were scheduled to be supported, such as Lowe and Finneas, who were bailed out, are not in as much danger as Sheeran. Using the criteria expressed above, they are arena performances at best. Their staff and fan base are literally not in the same ballpark.

But for every Sheeran who has decided not to speak out due to the cost of speaking out, it’s worth noting that there are several stars who have decided it’s worth the risk to put their views on Israel and Gaza on record. susan sarandon Actress Melissa Barrera lost her role in “Scream 7” because she said Israel was turning Gaza into one big “concentration camp.” She doubled down on her support for the Palestinians even as casting calls dried up, joining anti-war demonstrators at the 2024 Sundance protests.

“For a long time, my work gave me value as a human being. So when I saw that it could end, I thought, who am I? And I realized that I am more than just an actor,” Barrera said. independent.

The fame and money of Hollywood stars and famous musicians can certainly protect them from consequences that ordinary people might face. No one is snatching Susan Sarandon off the street, as happened after Tufts University graduate student Rumeisa Ozturk co-authored an op-ed for her university newspaper. Law enforcement hasn’t broken down Barrera’s door like they did with the Columbia University activists. Mahmoud Khalil.

selena gomez and mark ruffalo They were not caught up in the mass bottling in Los Angeles or taken away in zip ties like many lesser-known protesters. But they still take real risks and damage their careers by putting themselves out there. Barrera, for example, has not appeared in a major Hollywood movie since she began speaking out.

In his announcement that he was removed from the tour, Macklemore said he understands why people are unwilling to take sides on such a sensitive issue.

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“When you take sides, you pay a price. Money, brand deals, sponsorships, festivals, private shows, relationships, access. I lost all of that. But there is no neutrality between the oppressor and the oppressed,” he said. “Refusing to take sides doesn’t get you caught in the middle when one side has a bomb and receives endless financial and military support from the United States.”

Sheeran may be telling himself that his hands-off attitude is the fairest thing for all involved, and what his fans want. He believes it makes the most sense for the team and may simply be the type of person who doesn’t want to be involved. But by refusing to take sides, choosing security over risk decisions, he ended up finding himself on one side. We end up on the side of looking at an alleged genocide and shrugging our shoulders and blaming the bad guys on “both sides.” His former tour mates considered the option and decided it wasn’t an option at all.