U2start (Flickr), via Wikimedia CommonsSourceCC BY 2.0Cropped and resized by DI.
The Edge, born David Howell Evans in 1961 in Barking, England, is the guitarist and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2, which he co-founded in Dublin in 1976. With Bono he wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.
We have documented 1 statement by The Edge, in 1 case. Each statement below gives the quotation, its original source and a link to the full case.
Case updates
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Role at the time: Guitarist of U2, in a BBC News interview with the band in Dublin
Defended or excused
Statement summary
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.”
Open the original interview (opens in a new tab)'We had no idea how ill she was': Bono on recording Dolly Parton's last song · BBCPassage on the Macklemore controversy, after the section on Larry Mullen Jr's surgery and U2's 2027 stadium tour
Why we used 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.
Read Macklemore's 'Free Palestine' speech excerpts and the full transcript source. Compare the promoter's venue statement with his account of leaving Ed Sheeran's U.S. tour.
