The Edge says U2 supports Macklemore's right to speak and that Ed Sheeran should not be vilified
The EdgeGuitarist of U2, in a BBC News interview with the band in Dublin
U2 guitarist The Edge said the band supports Macklemore's right as an artist to say what he wanted to say. He said Ed Sheeran should not be vilified because he was in a very difficult situation, and he commended the younger artists who left Sheeran's tour, saying they were standing up for an artist's right to free speech.
“We totally support Macklemore's right as an artist to say what he wanted to say ... I don't think Ed should be vilified. He was in a very difficult situation. But I commend the other young artists who decided to leave [his] tour. ... They were sticking up for an artist's right to free speech, and I think that's the issue above anything else.”
Interview
Where this statement fits
Macklemore’s “Free Palestine” speech and removal from Ed Sheeran’s U.S. tour
At two Ed Sheeran concerts at MetLife Stadium, Macklemore called for a free Palestine, accused Israel of apartheid and genocide, and said criticism of Israel was not criticism of Jewish people. After venue objections, tour promoter Messina Touring Group said he would not perform the remaining U.S. Loop Tour dates. Critics characterized the performance as hostile or inappropriate; Macklemore defended it as a call for equal treatment.
Source and context
Interview
About this source
BBC News interview with U2 in Dublin by music correspondent Mark Savage, published with the band's album Carnaval de Luz. Asked about Macklemore's removal from Ed Sheeran's U.S. tour, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr. respond.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
BBC music correspondent Mark Savage asked U2 about the controversy over Ed Sheeran's U.S. tour, noting that the band's coming U.S. stadium tour will play some of the same venues. The interview was published as U2 released the album Carnaval de Luz.
After the quotation
The Edge went on to say that the band may disagree with some members of the pro-Palestine movement but agrees with its fundamentals. In the same interview, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. said no billionaire, promoter or owner has the right to censor anybody.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case concerns Macklemore's Free Palestine speech at Ed Sheeran's concerts and his removal from the remaining U.S. dates. The Edge backs Macklemore's right to make the speech and praises the artists who left the tour over it, which defends the speech. His remark that Sheeran should not be vilified is about who is to blame for the removal, not about the speech, so we labeled the statement as defending it.
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More from this case
Read the full caseMacklemore says nine U.S. arenas withdrew available dates once they learned the shows were benefits for Palestine
“By mid-September, we received available dates at these arenas through the end of the year. But once they found out these were my benefit shows for Palestine, those dates were suddenly off the table. The doors were closed. The conversations were all different, but the result was the same. The shows were not going to be allowed to happen in these venues. ... We live in a country that prides itself on freedom of speech. Yet we've reached a point where a handful of billionaires can decide which causes are acceptable, which voices are welcome and which human lives are worth defending.”Read statement
Macklemore answers the peers who sought to stop his Wembley show
“This is a story tonight of love. And regardless of what them 50 Lords have to say, this is a story of equality for all human beings around this Earth.”Read statement
Macklemore tells Dublin crowd the words "free Palestine" are "so threatening to some people"
“those two words are so threatening to some people. They would rather silence those two words than confront what they actually mean. Because freedom that requires another person’s oppression is not freedom at all.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "The Edge says U2 supports Macklemore's right to speak and that Ed Sheeran should not be vilified". First published: 2026-11-13. Last updated: 2026-11-13. https://disputeindex.com/events/8779-u2-guitarist-the-edge-said-the-band-supports